POOM 

TH6      LErVErRE- 
pRflTEnrilTY  • 

Collection  o 

PnfeJE:nT&D   TO 

the-  Gfen&nfli- 
Ljaaaoy  of  ♦ 
«5lGr-ia  £JlphT> 
twiLon    <>    • 


LIB  RAR.Y 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF    ILLINOIS 


944.07 

NI6W. 


Return  this  book  on  or  before  the 
Latest  Date  stamped  below. 

Theft,   mutilation,   and   underlining   of  book* 
are  reasons  for  disciplinary  action  and  may 
result  in  dismissal  from  the  University. 
University  of  Illinois  Library 


"•  ia  mi 


L161— O-1096 


LOUIS    NAPOLEON 

AND 

MADEMOISELLE   DE   MONTIJO 


LOUIS  NAPOLEON   BONAPARTE 
President  of  the  French  Republic 


LOUIS    NAPOLEON 


AND 


MADEMOISELLE    DE    MONTIJO 


BY 

IMBERT    DE   SAINT-AMAND 


TRANSLATED   BY 

ELIZABETH   GILBERT   MARTIN 


WITH  PORTRAITS 


NEW    YORK 

CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 

1897 


COPYRIGHT,   1897,  BY 
CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S   SONS 


Nottoooti  $MB8 

J.  S.  Cushing  &  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith 

Norwood  Mass.  U.S.A. 


W.07 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

Introduction  .' 1 

I.  The  Childhood  of  Louis  Napoleon 15 

II.  The  Fibst  Restoration 28 

III.  The  Hundred  Days 39 

IV.  The  First  Years  of  Exile 60 

V.  Rome 62 

VI.  The  Birth  of  the  Empress 69 

VII.  1830 77 

VIII.  The  Italian  Movement 90 

IX.  The  Insurrection  of  the  Romaona 97 

X.  Ancona 107 

XI.  The  Journey  in  France 115 

XII.  Arenenbero 128 

XIII.  Strasbubg 142 

XIV.  The  Childhood  of  the  Empress 164 

XV.  The  "  Andromeda  " 161 

XVI.  New  York 170 

v 


VI  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGK 

XVII.  Some  Days  in  London 179 

XVIII.  The  Death  of  Queen  Hortense 187 

XIX.  A  Year  in  Switzerland 197 

XX.  Two  Years  in  England 211 

XXI.  Boulogne 222 

XXII.  The  Conciergerie 233 

XXIII.  The  Court  of  Peers 240 

XXIV.  The  Fortress  of  Ham 247 

XXV.  The  Letters  from  Ham    261 

XXVI.  The  Prisoner's  Writings 274 

XXVII.  The  End  of  the  Captivity 281 

XXVIII.  The  Escape 292 

XXIX.  The  Death  of  King  Louis 301 

XXX.  Louis  Napoleon  Deputy  312 

XXXI.  The  Presidential  Election 321 

XXXII.  The  Elysee 336 

XXXIII.  The  Preliminaries  of  the  Coup  d'Etat 352 

XXXIV.  The  Coup  d'Etat 366 

XXXV.  The  Beginning  of  1862 377 

XXXVI.  The  Journey  in  the  South  387 

XXXVII.  The  Re-entrance  into  Paris 397 

XXXVIII.  Abd-el-Kader  at  Saint-Cloud 404 


CONTENTS  Vll 

CHAPTER  PAOK 

XXXIX.  Paris 411 

XL.  Mademoiselle  de  Montijo  ....    421 

XLI.  FONTAINEBLEAU 433 

XLII.  The  Empire 441 

XLIII.  Compiegne 448 

XLIV.  The  First  Days  of  1853 463 

XLV.  The  Announcement  of  the  Marriage 472 

XL VI.  The  Civil  Marriage 483 

XLVII.  The  Marriage  at  Notre  Dame 492 


PORTRAITS 

Louis  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  President  of  the  French 

Republic Frontispiece 

The  Empress  Eugenie  at  the  Age  of  Twenty-six 

Face  page  432 


LOUIS    NAPOLEON 


AND 


MADEMOISELLE    DE   MONTIJO 


INTRODUCTION 

rTlHIS  is  the  fifteenth  of  November,  1895.  At- 
tended only  by  a  warden,  I  am  visiting  the 
palace  of  Compiegne,  where,  thirty  years  ago  to  a 
day,  I  wished  the  Empress  Eugenie  many  happy 
returns  of  her  fSte.  Everybody  offered  her  a  bou- 
quet and  kissed  her  hand,  and  received  in  acknowl- 
edgment a  gentle  and  majestic  smile.  I  pass  through 
every  room  of  the  chateau.  Here  is  the  large  gallery 
which  was  used  as  a  dining-hall,  the  salon  where  the 
sovereign  drank  her  afternoon  tea  in  company  with 
some  privileged  guests  to  whom  a  verbal  invitation 
had  been  conveyed  in  the  morning  by  the  lady  of 
the  palace ;  there  is  the  card-room  where  they  spent 
the  evening;  yonder  the  drawing-room  where  people 
met  before  setting  out  on  a  hunt.  I  walk  about  in 
rooms  which  no  one  used  to  enter:  the  Emperor's 
study  and  his  bedroom,  the  chamber  and  dressing- 
room  of  the  Empress.  What  a  contrast  between  this 
furniture,  these  objects  of  art,  these  pictures  which 


LOUIS  NAPOLEON 


have  remained  absolutely  the  same,  and  the  royal- 
ties, the  empires,  whose  very  ruins  exist  no  longer! 
A  pale  autumnal  sun,  which  is  like  a  vague  reflection 
of  vanished  splendors,  lights  up  the  deserted  halls. 

I  remember  that  among  the  invited  guests  of  the 
Compi^gne  series  of  thirty  years  ago  there  figured 
Ferdinand  de  Lesseps,  Prosper  M^rime'e,  Baron 
Haussmann,  and  Leverrier  the  astronomer.  One  day 
this  famous  discoverer  of  a  planet  gave  a  little  lect- 
ure on  astronomy  to  the  visitors  at  the  chateau. 
He  spoke  of  the  plurality  of  worlds  and  demon- 
strated that  ours  is  but  a  barely  perceptible  atom 
in  the  immensity  of  the  universe.  I  seem  still  to 
hear  the  Emperor  saying  slowly,  in  a  melancholy 
voice,  at  the  end  of  this  lesson :  "  Great  God !  what 
petty  things  we  are!"  Napoleon  III.  was  quite 
right,  and  it  is  above  all  in  palaces,  abodes  as 
instructive  as  churches  and  cemeteries,  that  this 
saying  needs  to  be  repeated. 

Close  to  the  chapel  in  the  cMteau  of  CompiSgne 
there  is  a  small  salon  which  is  known  as  the  Salon 
of  the  Reviews,  because  it  contains  two  pictures 
representing  the  shade  of  the  victor  of  Austerlitz 
passing  phantom  soldiers  in  review.  For  the  Second 
Empire,  as  for  the  First,  there  are  already  phantasmal 
reviews  and  many  an  evocation  from  beyond  the 
tomb.  What  has  become  of  the  statesmen,  the 
generals,  diplomats,  literary  men,  and  scientists 
who  shone  in  this  chateau  once  so  animated,  to-day 
so  tranquil  ?     I  recall  some  verses  from  the  Imita- 


INTRODUCTION 


tion  of  Jesus  Christ:  "Tell  me,  where  are  those 
masters  whom  you  have  known,  and  whom  in  their 
lifetime  you  have  seen  flourish  by  their  doctrine? 
To-day  their  place  is  occupied  by  others,  and  I  know 
not  whether  they  think  of  their  predecessors.  So 
long  as  they  lived  they  counted  for  somewhat,  and 
now  they  are  forgotten.  Oh!  how  quickly  passes 
the  glory  of  the  world!" 

It  was  while  passing  through  the  apartments  of 
the  palace  of  Louis  XIV.,  when  the  offices  of  the 
Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs,  of  which  I  was  a  mem- 
ber, were  stationed  there  in  1871,  that  the  idea  of 
writing  the  Women  of  Versailles  occurred  to  me.  It 
was  while  contemplating  the  ruins  of  the  Tuileries 
that  I  determined  to  recount  the  lives  of  the  sover- 
eigns and  princesses  who  inhabited  that  fatal  palace. 
The  visits  which  in  these  latter  times  I  have  made 
to  the  chateaux  of  Fontainebleau  and  Compidgne  are 
what  have  decided  me  to  occupy  myself  with  the 
Second  Empire.  After  terminating  with  the  death 
of  Queen  Marie-Am^lie,  the  thirty-sixth  of  the  vol- 
umes which  I  had  consecrated  to  the  Women  of  Ver- 
sailles and  the  Women  of  the  Tuileries,  I  was  inclined 
to  consider  my  task  ended,  and  feared  to  weary  the 
patience  of  a  public  which,  to  my  great  surprise, 
had  remained  faithful  to  me  during  twenty-five 
years.  Some  possibly  too  kindly  persons  have  per- 
suaded me  to  resume  the  pen  and  to  study  the  Second 
Empire  as  I  had  studied  the  preceding  epochs.  I 
objected  that  it  is  perhaps  too  soon  to  speak  of  the 


LOUIS  NAPOLEON 


reign  of  Napoleon  III.  They  reply  that,  on  the  con- 
trary, the  time  has  come  to  approach  this  period  and 
to  profit  by  the  testimony  which  can  be  given  by 
those  of  the  Emperor's  contemporaries  who  are  still 
living.  History  could  wait  before  steam  and  elec- 
tricity. Nowadays  it  makes  haste.  Possibly  this 
precipitation  may  be  a  test  of  verity.  When  speak- 
ing of  recent  events  one  cannot  state  facts  inexactly 
without  being  immediately  contradicted.  It  is  dif- 
ferent when  one  studies  remote  periods ;  the  errors 
committed  could  in  that  case  be  pointed  out  only  by 
a  very  small  number  of  the  learned,  who  are  usually 
too  much  occupied  by  their  own  labors  to  have  lei- 
sure to  consider  those  of  others.  One  might  say 
that  the  history  of  our  days  is  made  instantaneously. 
It  is  like  a  judicial  inquiry  to  which  ocular  and 
auricular  witnesses  are  summoned. 

Under  the  pretext  that  I  had  seen  the  Court  of  the 
Second  Empire  near  at  hand,  some  of  my  friends 
have  advised  me  to  write  my  memoirs.  Not  for  an 
instant  did  I  entertain  the  notion  of  following  this 
counsel.  My  humble  career  is  far  too  obscure  to 
tempt  me  to  interest  the  public  in  it.  Nothing  in 
my  life  merits  description.  I  have  been  a  mere 
spectator.  The  only  thing  I  can  do  is  to  relate 
what  I  have  seen,  and  speak  of  illustrious  persons 
with  whom  I  have  found  myself  in  relations.  But 
I  will  never  blend  my  personality  with  my  stud- 
ies. It  suffices  me  to  reconstruct  in  thought  the 
scenes,  by  turn  dazzling  and  sombre,  which  have  so 


INTRODUCTION 


greatly  impressed  me.  I  have  been  present  at  all 
the  acts  of  the  drama,  I  have  witnessed  apotheoses 
as  well  as  overthrow  and  ruin.  I  saw  the  Empress 
Eugenie  going  to  Notre  Dame  on  the  day  of  her 
marriage.  I  was  very  near  her  in  the  same  church 
when  she  went  with  her  son  to  hear  the  Te  Deum 
chanted  for  the  victory  of  Solferino.  The  little 
prince  was  then  three  years  old.  I  think  I  see 
him  still  with  his  white  dress  and  his  blue  sash. 
Watching  closely  every  movement  of  his  mother, 
he  rose,  knelt,  and  seated  himself  Avhenever  she 
did.  The  carriage  in  which  the  Empress  and  her 
child  returned  to  the  Tuileries  was  filled  with  flow- 
ers. I  have  been  invited  to  the  public  and  the 
private  entertainments  of  the  Court,  to  those  fancy 
balls  where  the  sovereign  appeared  in  resplendent 
costumes,  and  at  other  times  hid  her  beauty  under 
mask  and  domino.  I  saw  the  Universal  Exposition 
of  1867,  splendid  zenith  of  a  reign,  and  the  crush- 
ing disasters  that  came  after.  I  was  present  at  the 
birth  of  the  Empire,  I  witnessed  its  last  agony,  and 
from  the  terraces,  surmounted  by  the  Ministry  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  I  watched  the  crowd  crossing  the 
Pont  de  la  Concorde  to  invade  the  Corps  L^gislatif 
and  proclaim  the  downfall  of  Napoleon  III.  and  his 
dynasty.  Having  been  in  relations  with  the  greater 
part  of  the  famous  men  and  women  who  were  con- 
spicuous in  Paris  when  I  was  young,  I  might  say  I 
had  a  proscenium  box  from  which  to  witness  the 
varied  and  extraordinary  scenes  which  unrolled  be- 


6  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

fore    my   eyes,    and    the    memory   of   which    I    am 
desirous  to  retrace. 

I  am  no  longer  at  an  age  when  one  can  make 
plans  which  demand  much  time,  and  I  know  not 
whether  I  shall  have  either  the  years  or  the  leisure 
necessary  to  delineate  a  complete  study  of  Parisian 
society  under  the  Second  Empire.  In  the  present 
volume  I  shall  confine  myself  to  a  rapid  glance  at 
the  early  lives  of  the  Emperor  and  the  Empress, 
from  their  birth  until  their  marriage. 

The  life  of  Napoleon  III.  before  his  coming  to 
the  throne  has  already  been  the  theme  of  numerous 
and  important  historic  studies.  Among  others  may 
be  mentioned  the  works  of  MM.  de  La  Gorce, 
Blanchard  Jerrold,  Georges  Duval,  Thirria,  Fernand 
Giraudeau,  and  Emile  Ollivier.  Every  one  of  these 
remarkable  works  we  have  found  very  useful.  We 
thank  and  congratulate  their  authors. 

Whatever  judgment  posterity  may  pass  upon  the 
second  Emperor,  it  is  an  incontestable  fact  that  for 
nearly  twenty-two  years  he  was  the  most  conspicu- 
ous personage  in  all  the  world.  No  figure  in  the 
latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  has  so  obtruded 
itself  into  history.  One  of  the  most  singular  char- 
acters that  has  ever  been  examined  is  certainly  that 
of  the  victor  of  Solferino,  the  vanquished  of  Sedan ; 
more  cosmopolitan  than  French,  at  once  a  dreamer 
and  a  man  of  action,  by  turns  and  even  sometimes 
simultaneously  democrat  and  autocrat,  tormented 
now  by  the  prejudices  of  the  past,  and  now  by  new 


INTRODUCTION 


ideas,  the  representative  of  Caesarism  and,  at  the 
end  of  his  reign,  the  champion  of  popular  liberties, 
taking  for  counsellors  men  thoroughly  antipodal  in 
their  antecedents  and  their  doctrines,  looking  like  a 
sphinx  and  not  always  able  to  guess  his  own  riddle, 
active  beneath  an  indolent  appearance,  impassioned 
despite  an  imperturbable  indifference,  energetic  yet 
with  an  air  of  extreme  moderation,  loving  humanity 
while  contemning  it,  kind  to  the  humble  and  com- 
passionate to  the  poor,  very  seriously  occupied  with 
the  idea  of  bettering  the  material  and  moral  condi- 
tion of  the  majority,  victim  of  the  faults  of  others 
still  more  than  of  his  own,  and  better  than  his 
destiny.  The  Republic  wrill  always  reproach  the 
second  Emperor  with  having  made  the  coup  d'Etat 
and  interfered  with  liberty.  The  frightful  disasters 
which  concluded  his  reign  cannot  be  forgotten.  A 
grudge  is  borne  him  for  not  remaining  true  to  his 
Bordeaux  programme:  "The  Empire  is  peace,"  a 
truly  fecund  programme  which  would  have  per- 
mitted him  to  realize  his  dream  of  extinguishing 
pauperism.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  people  remem- 
ber that  he  took  part  in  every  great  affair  in  all 
quarters  of  the  globe,  that  he  broached  all  problems, 
raised  all  questions,  that  his  eagles  soared  victori- 
ously from  Pekin  to  Mexico,  that  he  strengthened 
universal  suffrage,  proclaimed  the  principle  of 
national  sovereignty  and  the  principle  of  nation- 
alities, realized  in  Italy,  perhaps,  alas!  to  the 
detriment  of  Fiance,   the  dream   of   Dante  and  of 


8  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Machiavelli,  emancipated  the  petty  nations  of  the 
Balkan  peninsula,  inaugurated  the  system  of  com- 
mercial liberty,  sought  every  means  which  might 
bring  together  and  unite  peoples,  and  borrowed 
more  than  one  useful  reform  from  socialism.  It  is 
remembered,  in  fine,  that  he  declared  that  nations 
should  be  the  arbiters  of  their  own  destinies,  and 
that  he  tried  to  substitute  for  the  ancient  system  of 
conquests  the  maxim:  "Right  before  might."  The 
ideas  of  this  modern  and  revolutionary  sovereign, 
this  transitional  man  between  the  old  Monarchy  and 
the  Republic,  were  developed  in  an  imperfect  man- 
ner only,  and  fortune,  whose  favorite  he  had  been 
so  long,  ended  by  being  pitiless  in  his  regard. 
But  his  work,   though  interrupted,   had  a   certain 

grandeur. 

Perdent  opera  interrupta,  —  minceque 

Murorum  ingentes. 

Others,  perhaps,  will  accomplish  what  he  vainly 
dreamed,  and  democracy  may  some  day  do  that 
wherein  a  Caesar  failed. 

The  life  of  a  man  whose  destiny  has  been  so 
unexpected  and  so  strange  will  be  the  subject  of 
numberless  historical  studies,  and  afford  room  for 
the  most  contradictory  appreciations.  We  are  per- 
suaded that  the  best  means  of  judging  the  character 
and  the  r61e  of  Napoleon  III.  would  be  afforded  by 
publishing  his  correspondence  in  full,  as  that  of 
Napoleon  I.  has  been,  and  adding  to  it  all  his  liter- 
ary or  political  works,  his  professions  of  faith,  and 


INTRODUCTION  9 


his  speeches  from  the  throne.  In  these  would  be 
found  the  elements  of  an  essentially  curious  auto- 
biography. 

History  attaches  itself,  by  preference,  to  person- 
ages whose  career  has  been  fruitful  in  contrasts,  and 
whose  destiny  has  had  a  touch  of  romance.  That  is 
why  the  Empress  Eugenie  will  interest  so  highly 
not  merely  her  own  epoch  but  the  centuries  to  come. 
A  living  symbol  of  the  vicissitudes  and  the  ironies 
of  fortune,  she  has  been  by  turns  a  splendid  sover- 
eign, a  happy  wife,  envied  and  flattered  above  all 
others,  and  a  mater  dolorosa.  Much  will  be  said 
about  her  because  she  possessed  all  that  is  required 
to  impress  the  imagination,  and,  according  to  the 
saying  of  Napoleon  I.,  imagination  rules  the  world. 
At  the  time  when  the  news  of  the  marriage  of  Made- 
moiselle de  Montijo  and  Napoleon  III.  began  to 
spread  in  Paris,  some  one  hastened  to  carry  it  to 
M.  de  Lamartine,  thinking  it  would  be  badly  re- 
ceived and  censured  by  him.  Instead  of  that,  the 
great  poet  exclaimed :  "  The  Emperor  has  just  real- 
ized the  most  beautiful  dream  possible  to  man:  to 
raise  the  woman  he  loves  above  all  other  women." 
The  Empress  was  married  for  love,  and  nothing  is 
more  poetic,  nothing  more  popular,  than  love.  The 
unfortunate  sovereign  has  held  a  sceptre  which 
women  prize  above  that  of  royalty  or  empire, —  the 
sceptre  of  beauty.  She  has  incarnated  all  joys  and 
all  sufferings,  and  there  is  not  in  the  world  a  more 
striking   contrast   than   that  between   her  dazzling 


10  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

robes  of  former  times  and  her  widow's  dress,  the 
black  woollen  gown  she  wears  to-day. 

The  Empress  Euge'nie  is  a  remarkably  gifted 
woman.  Truly  Spanish  in  character,  impassioned 
for  religion  and  for  glory,  she  loves  all  that  is  beau- 
tiful, chivalrous,  heroic.  There  is  vehemence  in 
her  mind  and  exaltation  in  her  heart.  Adventurous 
things  have  always  attracted  her.  She  is  pleased  by 
what  is  extraordinary:  "I  belong,"  she  said  one  day, 
with  a  smile,  "to  the  family  of  the  Cid,  and  the 
family  of  Don  Quixote."  She  expresses  herself 
with  vivacity  and  charm,  sometimes  even  with  elo- 
quence, in  the  languages  of  her  two  countries. 
When  she  broaches  any  subject  of  discussion,  politi- 
cal, historic,  or  literary,  she  examines  it  on  all  sides, 
she  exhausts  it.  Her  style  is  impulsive,  original, 
full  of  color  and  imagery.  Her  very  clear,  very  firm 
handwriting  indicates  a  character  full  of  energy. 
She  reads  much  and  easily  assimilates  all  she  reads. 
Hers  is  a  nature  full  of  resources,  which  immeasur- 
able misfortunes  have  not  beaten  down  and  which 
everything  still  interests.  Her  life  has  glided  by 
like  a  dream,  a  starry  dream  that  changed  into  a 
horrible  nightmare.  But  the  Empress  has  been  on 
a  level  with  her  misfortune,  and  we  do  not  believe 
that  any  widow,  any  mother  deprived  of  her  only 
child,  has  shown  more  dignity  in  her  sorrow. 

It  would  be  playing  the  courtier,  it  would  be 
flattering  a  dethroned  sovereign,  and  consequently 
failing  in  respect  for  her,  to  say  that  she  has  not 


INTRODUCTION  11 


often  been  deceived  in  political  matters.  But  it 
can  be  affirmed  that  she  has  always  been  so  in  good 
faith,  and  that  her  errors  were  caused  by  noble  and 
generous  sentiments.  That  is  why  she  has  inspired 
a  sentiment  of  commiseration  and  respect  even  in 
adversaries  who  were  most  irritated  against  the 
imperial  regime. 

Many  who  were  severe  upon  the  triumphant  sov- 
ereign are  affected  in  presence  of  the  unfortunate 
woman.  By  the  very  excess  of  the  calamities  whose 
weight  ennobles  her,  the  widow  of  Napoleon  III. 
has  disarmed  envy,  and  when  she  passes  through 
the  city  where  once  she  reigned  with  so  much  splen- 
dor, there  is  a  sort  of  tacit  agreement,  a  truce  of 
God,  between  all  parties  and  in  all  the  journals,  to 
avoid  distressing  her.  Writers  have  long  hesitated 
to  mention  her,  fearing  to  disturb  her  sorrow.  But 
now,  when  the  historic  movement  is  approaching  the 
reign  of  Napoleon  III.,  it  is  impossible  that  his 
companion  should  escape  history.  The  Empress  has 
played  a  part  too  active,  she  has  exerted  too  great  an 
influence,  to  be  kept  out  of  narratives  wherein  she 
must  necessarily,  and  perhaps  even  in  her  own 
despite,  hold  a  place  so  important.  At  present, 
when  psychology  is  intimately  united  with  history, 
and  when  historians,  while  scrupulously  respecting 
truth,  seek  to  give  their  narrations  the  animation 
and  attraction  of  the  novel,  such  a  figure  as  that  of 
the  Empress  Euge'nie  will  thrust  itself  into  the  most 
profound    and    conscientious    investigations.      The 


12  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

least  details  of  her  existence  will  be  studied,  one 
might  say,  with  a  microscope.  Her  portraits  and 
her  letters  will  be  collected.  Her  least  words  and 
actions  will  be  recorded.  She  will  excite  the  same 
curiosity  as  Marie  Antoinette.  The  fetes  of  the 
Tuileries,  of  Fontainebleau,  and  Compiegne  will  be 
described  like  those  of  Versailles  and  the  Little 
Trianon.  Of  all  the  women  who  have  played  a  part 
in  the  second  half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  we 
think  that  the  Empress  Eugenie  is  she  with  whom 
posterity  will  be  most  occupied.  She  would  assur- 
edly have  had  less  prestige  if  the  Empire  had  not 
been  overthrown.  Which  will  interest  future  gen- 
erations most?  Is  it  the  bride  of  Notre  Dame?  I3 
it  the  chatelaine  of  the  Tuileries  ?  Is  it  the  intrepid 
woman  who,  at  the  moment  when  Orsini's  bombs 
had  just  exploded,  ascended  the  grand  staircase  of 
the  Op6ra,  pale  but  impassible,  leaning  on  the 
Emperor  with  one  arm,  and  with  the  other  holding 
up  the  train  of  her  blood-stained  robe?  Is  it  the 
sovereign  who  emulates  the  Sisters  of  Charity  and 
who,  as  she  leaves  the  hospital  of  Saint-Antoine, 
after  a  visit  to  the  cholera  patients,  sees  women  of 
the  people,  admirers  of  her  courage,  spring  forward 
to  cut  fragments  from  her  flounces,  regarding  them 
as  relics  ?  Is  it  the  Juno  reigning  over  an  Olympus 
of  emperors  and  kings  at  the  Exposition  of  1867? 
No;  it  is  the  mother  who  weeps  and  prays  in  Zulu- 
land  on  the  spot  where  her  son  had  fallen  after 
fighting   like  a  young  lion.     What  posterity  will 


INTRODUCTION  13 


prefer  to  contemplate  on  the  brow  of  the  Empress 
Eugdnie  is  not  a  crown  of  empire,  but  a  crown  of 
thorns. 

We  make  no  pretension  to  write  a  definitive  his- 
tory of  the  last  woman  of  the  Tuileries.  Such  a 
task  would  demand  a  talent  we  do  not  possess. 
Our  desire  is  merely  to  publish  concerning  the 
widow  of  Napoleon  III.,  and  the  society  by  which 
she  was  surrounded,  a  modest  essay  similar  to  our 
studies  of  the  heroines  who  preceded  her  in  the  fatal 
palace  whose  very  ruins  have  disappeared.  In  speak- 
ing of  the  various  dynasties  that  have  reigned  in 
France  we  have  thus  far  sought  to  hold  the  balances 
evenly  between  all,  and  our  appreciations  of  mon- 
archies have  contained  nothing  that  could  offend 
republican  consciences.  Our  sole  merit,  we  believe, 
has  been  a  complete  impartiality,  praising  what  is 
good,  blaming  what  is  bad.  This  entire  sincerity 
will  continue  to  be  our  rule.  Besides,  at  a  period 
when  our  work  is  subjected  to  excessive  public  criti- 
cism, we  could  not  be  partial  with  impunity.  The 
events  to  be  spoken  of  are  too  recent  to  be  misrepre- 
sented. We  shall  try  to  produce,  not  an  apology 
but  a  sort  of  photographic  representation  of  persons 
and  things.  The  time  for  courtiers  has  passed  by. 
To-day  there  is  but  one  power  before  whom  all  must 
bow  without  exception.     That  power  is  the  truth. 


Co.MPiihiN-E,  November  15,  1895. 


CHAPTER   I 

THE   CHILDHOOD   OF   LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

TTORTENSE  DE  BEAUHARNAIS,  whose 
third  son  was  the  Emperor  Napoleon  III., 
was  born  in  Paris,  April  10,  1783.  Her  father, 
General  Vicomte  Alexandre  de  Beauharnais,  who 
was  president  of  the  Constituent  Assembly,  and 
general-in-chief  of  the  army  of  the  Rhine,  notwith- 
standing the  pledges  he  had  given  to  liberal  ideas 
and  the  Revolution,  was  guillotined  during  the  Ter- 
ror, July  23,  1794.  His  wife,  the  Vicomtesse  de 
Beauharnais,  born  Tascher  de  la  Pagerie,  was  incar- 
cerated at  the  same  time  in  the  prison  des  Carmes, 
and  only  saved  from  the  scaffold  by  the  execution 
of  Robespierre.  On  March  9,  1796,  she  married 
General  Bonaparte,  and  the  children  of  her  first 
marriage,  Eug&ne  and  Hortense,  were  treated  with 
great  kindness  by  her  second  husband.  On  January 
4,  1802,  Hortense  married  Louis  Bonaparte,  born  at 
Ajaccio,  September  2,  1778,  the  third  brother  of  the 
First  Consul.  She  brought  into  the  world,  October 
10,  1802,  a  son,  Napoleon-Charles,  who  died  at  The 
Hague,  in  1807;  October  11,  1804,  a  second  son, 
who  died  in  1831,  at  Forli,  at  the  time  of  the  insur- 

16 


16  LOUIS   NAPOLEON 

rection  of  the  Romagna;  and  April  20,  1808,  a 
third,  who  was  the  Emperor  Napoleon  III. 

Honors  were  not  lacking  to  Louis  Bonaparte. 
His  all-powerful  brother  could  say  to  him :  — 

"1"  have  loaded  thee  with  them,  I  ivould  overwhelm 
thee  with  them." 

He  had  made  him  general  of  division,  prince, 
constable,  commandant  of  the  place  of  Paris,  and 
charged  him  with  the  organization  of  an  army 
intended  to  protect  the  north  of  France  and  the 
shipyards  of  Antwerp  and  Holland.  Louis  had 
acquitted  himself  so  well  that  he  had  been  put  in 
the  order  of  the  day  in  a  bulletin  from  the  Grand 
Army.  It  was  then  that  he  said  to  his  brother: 
"Enough  of  grandeurs  and  of  glory.  I  have  but 
one  more  wish:  to  live  tranquil  and  retired."  The 
Emperor  responded  by  proclaiming  Louis  King  of 
Holland,  June  5,  1806,  at  Saint-Cloud.  The  new 
King  and  Queen  Hortense  made  their  formal  entry 
at  The  Hague,  June  23. 

Notwithstanding  a  destiny  so  brilliant,  Hortense 
was  far  from  happy.  Her  marriage  with  Louis 
Bonaparte  had  not  been  one  of  inclination  on  either 
side.  There  was  a  constantly  increasing  incompati- 
bility of  temper  between  the  pair.  However,  the 
death  of  their  eldest  son,  the  prince  royal,  who  was 
carried  off  by  croup,  May  4,  1807,  caused  them  a 
sorrow  which  brought  about  a  brief  reconciliation. 
They  went  together  at  this  time  to  Cauterets.  The 
breach  seemed  to  be  healed,  and  when  it  was  learned 


THE  CHILDHOOD   OF  LOUIS  NAPOLEON        17 


that  the  Queen  was  again  pregnant,  people  thought 
it  was  definitively  closed.  On  the  contrary,  this 
was  even  the  precise  cause  of  a  misunderstanding. 
Hortense  wished  her  child  to  be  born  in  Paris. 
She  obtained  permission  from  the  Emperor,  in  spite 
of  her  husband,  who  returned  alone,  and  deeply 
offended,  to  The  Hague. 

Queen  Hortense's  house  in  Paris  was  situated  in 
a  street  then  called  Cerutti,  but  now  Laffitte.  At 
present  the  number  is  seventeen.  The  future  Em- 
peror was  born  there  at  one  o'clock  on  Wednesday 
morning,  April  20,  1808.  Salvos  of  artillery  an- 
nounced the  prince's  birth  throughout  the  vast 
extent  of  the  Empire,  from  Hamburg  to  Rome,  from 
the  Pyrenees  to  the  Danube.  The  new-born  child 
was  privately  baptized  by  Cardinal  Fesch,  but  as  the 
Emperor  was  absent,  he  received  at  first  no  Christian 
name.  It  was  not  until  June  2  that  he  was  given 
those  of  Charles-Louis-Napoleon.  A  family  register, 
intended  for  the  children  of  the  Napoleonic  dynasty, 
had  been  deposited  in  the  senate-house.  It  was  a 
sort  of  great  book  of  rights  to  the  imperial  succes- 
sion, and  Charles-Louis-Napoleon  was  inscribed 
therein.  The  only  prince  who  figured  there  after 
him  was  the  King  of  Rome. 

Louis-Napoleon  did  not  remain  a  Dutch  prince 
long.  His  father,  King  Louis,  would  not  accept  the 
r61e  of  a  crowned  prefect.  He  quarrelled  with  the 
Emperor,  whose  requirements  seemed  to  him  incom- 
patible with  the  independence  and  dignity  of  the 


18  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Dutch  nation.  July  1,  1810,  he  signed  at  Harlem 
his  abdication  in  favor  of  his  eldest  son,  Napoleon- 
Louis,  and,  failing  him,  in  favor  of  his  second  son, 
Charles-Louis-Napoleon.  The  act  was  accompanied 
by  a  proclamation  to  the  Hollanders,  in  which  he 
said:  "I  shall  never  forget  a  people  so  good  and 
virtuous  as  you ;  my  last  thought,  my  last  wish,  will 
be  for  your  welfare.  Now  that  I  can  no  longer  be 
reached  by  malevolence  and  calumny,  at  least  in 
what  concerns  myself,  I  have  the  just  hope  that  you 
will  at  last  receive  the  reward  of  all  your  sacrifices 
and  of  your  courageous  perseverance  and  resigna- 
tion." Fearing  lest  an  attempt  should  be  made  to 
seize  his  person,  the  King  desired  the  two  acts  to 
remain  unknown  until  after  his  departure,  which 
took  place  at  midnight,  July  2.  He  wept  over  his 
eldest  son,  whom  he  left  at  Harlem,  and  quitted  his 
pavilion  on  foot  and  secretly,  passing  through  the 
garden  to  reach  his  carriage.  While  doing  so  he 
had  a  fall  which  nearly  prevented  his  departure.  He 
carried  away  with  him  only  ten  thousand  florins  and 
his  decorations  in  brilliants.  He  sent  a  Dutch 
counsellor  of  state  to  PlombiSres,  where  Queen 
Hortense  then  was,  to  invite  her  to  assume  the 
regency  in  the  name  of  the  prince  royal.  The 
Queen  had  no  time  to  accept  this  invitation,  for 
six  days  after  the  abdication  of  the  King,  the  Em- 
peror issued  a  decree  annexing  Holland  to  France. 
One  of  his  aides-de-camp,  General  Lauriston,  went 
to   find  the   prince   royal,    and   brought   him   back 


THE  CHILDHOOD   OF  LOUIS  NAPOLEON        19 

to  France,  where  he  was  put  in  charge  of  his 
mother. 

Taking  precautions  to  prevent  being  arrested  by 
his  brother,  Louis  sought  refuge  in  Bohemia,  and 
arrived  at  Toplitz,  July  9.  When  he  learned  that 
the  rights  of  his  son  had  been  disregarded,  he 
addressed  a  protest  to  all  the  courts.  M.  Decazes 
went  to  Toplitz  to  induce  him,  in  the  name  of  the 
Emperor  Napoleon,  to  return  to  France.  The  de- 
throned King  refused,  and  took  shelter  at  Gratz,  in 
Styria,  where  he  remained  until  1813. 

The  happiness  of  having  her  eldest  son  again,  and 
of  being  able  to  educate  both  of  her  children  in 
Paris,  completely  reconciled  Hortense  to  the  loss  of 
a  crown.  The  Emperor  treated  the  little  princes 
with  great  kindness.  November  10,  1810,  the 
younger,  Louis-Napoleon,  and  the  children  of  sev- 
eral great  personages  of  the  Empire  (Prince  de 
Neufch&tel,  Due  de  Montebello,  Due  de  Bassano, 
Due  de  Cadore,  Comte  de  Cessac,  Due  de  Trevise, 
Due  de  Bellune,  Due  d'Abrantds,  Comte  Dejean, 
Comte  de  Beauharnais,  Comte  Rampon,  Comte 
Daru,  Comte  Duchatel,  Comte  Capulli,  Comte  de 
Lauriston,  Comte  Lemarrois,  Comte  Defrance, 
Comte  de  Turenne,  Comte  de  Lagrange,  Comte 
Gros,  Baron  Curial,  Baron  Colbert,  Baron  Gobert, 
and  Comte  Becker)  were  solemnly  held  at  the  bap- 
tismal font  by  the  Emperor  and  the  Empress  Marie 
Louise,  in  the  chapel  of  the  palace  of  Fontaine- 
bleau.     The  music  of  a  new  mass  by  Lesueur  was 


20  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

performed.  Monseigneur  de  La  Roche,  Bishop  of 
Versailles,  officiated.  On  leaving  the  chapel  the 
Emperor  said,  alluding  to  the  interesting  condition 
of  Marie  Louise:  "Before  long,  gentlemen,  I  hope 
we  shall  have  another  infant  to  baptize."  The  next 
day  he  sent  Queen  Hortense  a  magnificent  pearl 
necklace,  the  clasp  of  which  was  a  sapphire  set  in 
brilliants.  All  members  of  the  Queen's  household 
who  had  been  present  at  the  ceremony  likewise 
received  rich  presents.  Louis-Napoleon  passed  from 
the  care  of  his  nurse,  Madame  Bure,  into  that  of  his 
governess,  Madame  de  Boubers,  and  of  Mademoiselle 
Cochelet,  the  Queen's  reader.  The  Abbe*  Bertrand 
was  appointed  his  tutor,  while  his  elder  brother  was 
under  the  instruction  of  the  famous  Hellenist,  M. 
Hase. 

The  birth  of  the  King  of  Rome  did  not  change  the 
Emperor's  sentiments  toward  his  young  nephews. 
They  were  well  brought  up  by  their  mother,  who  took 
pains  to  convince  them  that  they  were  nobodies,  and 
could  rely  only  on  themselves.  She  forbade  their 
being  addressed  as  Monseigneur  and  Imperial  High- 
ness. They  were  often  called:  "My  little  Napo- 
leon, my  little  Louis."  After  examining  her  sons 
on  what  they  knew  already,  Hortense  would  run 
over  the  list  of  what  they  had  still  to  learn  in  order 
to  be  self-sufficing  and  able  to  create  the  resources 
necessary  to  their  existence.  One  day,  while  hold- 
ing them  both  on  her  knees,  she  said :  — 

"If  you  had  nothing  more  at  all,  and  were  alone 


THE  CHILDHOOD   OF  LOUIS  NAPOLEON        21 

in  the  world,  what  would  you  do,  Napoleon,  to  get 
out  of  such  a  scrape  ?  " 

"  I  would  become  a  soldier,  and  fight  so  well  that 
they  would  make  me  an  officer." 

"  And  how  would  you  earn  your  living,  Louis  ?  " 

"I  would  sell  bunches  of  violets,  like  the  little 
boy  at  the  door  of  the  Tuileries,  from  whom  we  buy 
some  ever}*  day." 

The  second  Emperor  recorded  his  recollections  of 
his  childhood  in  a  fragmentary  memoir,  communi- 
cated by  the  Empress  Eugenie  to  M.  Blanchard 
Jerrold,  who  has  given  an  English  version  of  them 
in  his  interesting  volume,  The  Life  of  Napoleon  III., 
from  which  we  shall  borrow  numerous  documents. 

"My  first  recollections,"  says  the  Emperor,  "go 
back  to  my  baptism;  I  was  baptized  in  my  third 
year.  Next  I  remember  Malmaison.  I  still  see  the 
Empress  Josephine  in  her  salon  on  the  ground  floor, 
covering  me  with  caresses,  and  already  flattering  my 
self-love  by  repeating  my  bright  sayings.  For  my 
grandmother  spoiled  me  in  the  full  sense  of  the 
word,  while  my  mother,  on  the  contrary,  from  my 
earliest  infancy,  took  pains  to  correct  my  faults  and 
develop  my  qualities.  I  recollect  that  when  my 
brother  and  I  arrived  at  Malmaison  we  could  do 
whatever  we  pleased.  The  Empress,  who  was  pas- 
sionately fond  of  plants  and  hot-houses,  allowed  us 
to  cut  the  sugar  canes  to  suck  them,  and  always  told 
us  to  ask  for  whatever  we  wanted.  One  day,  when 
she  made  this   remark  on  the  eve  of   a  feast,   my 


22  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

brother,  who  was  three  years  older  than  I,  and  hence 
more  sentimental,  asked  for  a  watch  with  our 
mother's  portrait.  But  when  the  Empress  said  to 
me:  'Louis,  ask  for  just  what  will  please  you  best,' 
I  asked  to  go  and  walk  in  the  mud  with  the  street 
Arabs." 

The  Emperor  thus  describes  his  passion  for  mili- 
tary things:  "Like  all  children,  but  perhaps  more 
than  all  others,  soldiers  attracted  my  eyes  and  were 
the  subject  of  all  my  thoughts.  Whenever  I  could 
escape  from  the  salon  at  Maltnaison,  I  would  hurry 
towards  the  grand  staircase,  where  two  grenadiers  of 
the  Imperial  Guard  were  always  on  duty.  I  remem- 
ber saying  to  them:  'I  can  do  the  exercise,  too;  I 
have  a  little  gun.'  And  the  grenadier  would  tell 
me  to  command  him,  and  I  would  say:  'Present 
arms !  Carry  arms !  Shoulder  arms ! '  and  the  grena- 
dier would  execute  all  the  movements  to  give  me 
pleasure.  My  rapture  can  be  imagined.  Wishing 
to  prove  my  gratitude  I  would  run  to  a  place  where 
biscuits  had  been  given  us,  take  one  and  run  to 
put  it  into  the  hand  of  the  grenadier,  who  would 
laugh  and  accept  it." 

Happy  in  the  progress  of  her  children  and  the 
good  will  of  the  Emperor,  Hortense  was  at  this  time 
contented  with  her  lot.  Very  much  the  fashion, 
flattered  by  the  best  society,  both  French  and  foreign, 
she  led  a  princely  existence  in  Paris,  where  her 
house,  in  the  rue  Cerutti,  was  the  rendezvous  of 
all  the  leaders  in  politics,   letters,  and  arts.     She 


THE  CHILDHOOD   OF  LOUIS  NAPOLEON        23 

painted,  she  sang,  she  composed  pleasing  romances. 
This  was  an  artist  queen,  amiable,  gracious,  attrac- 
tive, having  friends  and  admirers  in  all  parties. 

Meanwhile  the  unhappy  Louis,  a  king  without  a 
crown,  a  husband  without  a  wife,  a  father  without 
children,  was  leading  the  saddest  of  lives  in  his 
voluntary  exile.  When  the  news  reached  him  of 
the  senatorial  decree  of  December  15,  1810,  by 
which  an  appanage  around  his  estate  of  Saint-Leu 
was  awarded  him  in  place  of  his  throne  of  Holland, 
he  wrote  to  Queen  Hc^rtense :  "  My  pain  and  sorrow 
would  be  at  their  height  could  I  accept  the  shameful 
appanage  intended  for  me.  ...  I  command  you  to 
refuse  even  the  least  portion  of  this  vile  and  dis- 
graceful gift.  I  annul  in  advance  any  acceptance  or 
consent  which  you  could  give  either  for  yourself  or 
for  my  children.  All  my  private  estates  are  at  your 
service  and  theirs.  I  authorize  you  to  take  posses- 
sion of  them.  That,  with  your  own  property,  will 
enable  you  to  live  as  a  private  person;  as  queen, 
wife,  mother,  under  every  aspect,  any  other  gift 
would  insult  you,  and  I  would  disown  you  at  all 
times,  as  in  all  places." 

No  sooner  was  France  unfortunate  than  Louis 
wished  to  serve  her.  January  1,  1813,  he  wrote  to 
his  brother:  "I  come,  Sire,  to  offer  to  the  land  where 
I  was  born,  and  to  you,  my  name,  my  remaining 
strength,  and  all  the  services  of  which  I  am  capable, 
if  only  I  may  do  so  with  honor."  This  offer  was 
not  accepted.     Seeing  that  war  was  about  to  break 


24  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

out  between  Austria  and  France,  Louis  was  unwill- 
ing to  remain  in  the  dominions  of  the  Emperor 
Francis,  and  set  off  for  Switzerland,  July  10.  Be- 
fore leaving  Styria,  he  wrote  a  little  poem  in  which 
he  said:  — 

Adieu,  florissante  contree, 

Oh  nul  ne  comprit  tous  mes  maux, 

Mais  oil,  I'dme  triste,  eplore'e, 

J'ai  souvent  reve  le  repos.  .  .  . 

Confidents  d'un  cozur  solitaire. 

Jeunes  arbres,  mes  seuls  amis, 

Puisse  votre  ombre  hospitaliere 

Mieux  abriter  d'autres  proscrits.1 

Louis  hoped  for  a  moment  that  his  brother  would 
send  him  back  to  Holland,  where  he  still  had  real 
sympathizers.  But  Napoleon  said:  "I  would  prefer 
that  Holland  should  return  to  the  control  of  the 
house  of  Orange,  than  to  that  of  my  brother."  The 
allies,  having  entered  Switzerland,  Louis  left  that 
country,  December  22,  1813,  and  reached  Paris, 
January  1,  1814,  where  he  went  to  the  house  of 
Madame  Mere.  January  10,  he  obtained  an  inter- 
view with  the  Emperor,  through  the  intermediation 
of  the  Empress  Marie  Louise.  The  meeting  was 
frigid.  The  brothers  did  not  embrace.  Louis  saw 
Napoleon  a  second  time,  on  the  eve  of  his  departure 

1  Adieu,  flourishing  country,  —  Where  no  one  comprehends  my 
woes,  —  But  where,  soul-sick  and  weeping,  —  I  often  have  dreamed 
repose.  .  .  .  —  Confidants  of  a  solitary  heart,  —  Young  trees,  my 
only  friends,  —  May  your  hospitable  shade  —  Give  better  shelter  to 
other  exiles. 


THE  CHILDHOOD  OF  LOUIS  NAPOLEON        25 

for  the  armj\  March  16,  he  wrote  him  these  pro- 
phetic lines:  "If  Your  Majesty  does  not  sign  a 
peace,  you  may  be  thoroughly  convinced  that  your 
government  will  not  last  three  weeks  longer.  A 
little  coolness  and  good  sense  are  all  that  is  required 
to  judge  how  things  stand  at  this  moment."  Louis 
lived  in  Paris  from  the  beginning  of  January  until 
March  30,  when  he  accompanied  the  Empress  Marie 
Louise  to  Blois,  after  vainly  counselling  her  to 
remain  in  Paris  even  after  the  entry  of  the  allies. 
Hortense  was  an  ardent,  energetic,  impassioned 
woman,  whose  heart  throbbed  responsive  to  every- 
thing soldierly  and  chivalric.  At  the  time  of  the 
invasion  she  thought  and  acted  like  a«true  patriot, 
and  notwithstanding  their  extreme  youth,  her  sons 
shared  her  generous  emotions.  At  the  first  rumor 
of  invasion  by  a  foreign  army  she  tried  to  make  them 
comprehend  how  they  would  be  affected  by  such  a 
calamity.  After  describing  the  devastated  country, 
the  burned  cabins,  the  foodless  peasants,  the  orphaned 
children,  she  asked  if,  since  they  were  not  old 
enough  to  fight,  they  would  not  at  least  share  all 
they  possessed  with  the  unhappy.  The  little  princes 
at  once  offered  all  their  toys,  their  money,  and  what- 
ever they  had.  Mademoiselle  Cochelet,  who  relates 
this  anecdote,  adds :  "  The  Queen  accepted  their  sac- 
rifice, but  made  it  tell  in  a  manner  they  would  feel 
daily,  and  so  be  reminded  of  the  misfortunes  of  a 
country  with  which  they  ought  to  identify  them- 
selves.    It  was  agreed  that  they  should  go  without 


26  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

dessert  so  long  as  there  was  war  on  French  territory. 
Prince  Napoleon  told  me  this  with  a  sort  of  pride ; 
he  had  made  his  brother  Louis,  who  was  only  six 
years  old,  understand  that  to  associate  them  in  this 
way  with  the  common  distress  was  to  make  them  of 
some  importance." 

If  Marie  Louise  had  had  the  sentiments  and  the 
energy  of  Hortense,  she  would  at  least  have  saved 
the  cause  of  the  King  of  Rome,  if  not  that  of  the 
Emperor.  "  Sister,"  said  the  Queen  to  the  Empress, 
who  was  about  to  start  for  Blois,  "  you  know  that  in 
leaving  Paris  you  neutralize  the  defence,  and  thus 
lose  your  crown ;  I  see  that  you  are  making  the  sac- 
rifice with  much  resignation. "  Marie  Louise  replied : 
"  You  are  right ;  it  is  not  my  fault,  the  council  has 
settled  it  this  way."  Hortense  exclaimed:  "I  wish 
I  were  the  mother  of  the  King  of  Rome ;  the  energy 
I  would  display  would  inspire  ever}*body  else." 

The  weakness  displayed  by  public  opinion  made 
her  angry,  and  she  said,  bitterly:  "Can  an  army 
take  possession  of  a  capital  so  easily?  and  with  the 
Emperor  so  near!  But  I  remember  that  Madrid 
held  out  for  days  against  our  armies;  there  are 
thousands  of  such  examples  and  we  are  French- 
men!" 

It  was  the  29th  of  March.  The  enemy  was  ap- 
proaching. Marie  Louise  had  just  quitted  the 
Tuileries.  King  Louis,  learning  that  his  wife  and 
children  had  not  yet  departed,  sent  word  to  the 
Queen  that  she  seemed  to  forget  that  if  Paris  were 


THE  CHILDHOOD   OF  LOUIS  NAPOLEON        27 

taken  her  children  might  be  seized  as  hostages.  At 
nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  the  carriages  started. 
The  Queen  rode  in  the  first  one  with  her  children ; 
the  Comtesse  de  Mailly,  under-governess  to  the 
princes,  the  Comte  and  Comtesse  d'Arjuzon,  and 
Madame  Bure  were  in  the  second,  and  Mademoiselle 
Cochelet  in  the  third,  carrying  with  her  all  the 
Queen's  fortune,  that  is  to  say,  her  diamonds.  As 
the  Cossacks  had  already  been  seen  near  Paris,  the 
Queen,  dreading  to  meet  them,  ordered  her  courier 
to  ride  well  in  advance  of  the  carriages,  and  to  fire 
a  pistol  in  the  air  if  he  perceived  an  enemy.  Such 
a  signal  was  to  make  the  carriages  turn  back. 

Hortense  would  not  yet  despair.  She  fancied  that 
Napoleon  was  about  to  appear  as  a  deliverer.  For 
that  reason  she  went  away  slowly,  and  spent  the 
night  at  the  Little  Trianon.  The  next  day,  March 
30,  Marshal  Moncey  and  a  handful  of  soldiers  made 
a  heroic  defence  at  the  Clichy  barrier. 

From  the  garden  of  the  Trianon,  Hortense  heard 
the  cannonading  at  Paris  distinctly.  When  the 
fighting  was  over,  and  the  capitulation  signed,  the 
despairing  Queen,  deciding  to  continue  her  route, 
went  first  to  Rambouillet,  and  then  to  the  chateau 
of  Navarre,  near  Evreux,  where  she  rejoined  her 
mother. 


CHAPTER   II 

THE  FIRST  RESTORATION 

^PHE  death  agony  of  the  Empire  had  just  begun. 
The  allies  were  masters  of  Paris.  Napoleon 
was  at  Fontainebleau ;  Marie  Louise  and  the  King 
of  Rome  at  Blois ;  Josephine,  Hortense,  and  her  chil- 
dren at  the  chateau  of  Navarre.  The  senate  had 
recalled  the  Bourbons.  The  Emperor  had  abdicated, 
April  6,  for  himself  and  his  dynasty.  April  11,  the 
Powers  signed  a  treaty  conferring  the  sovereignty  of 
the  island  of  Elba  on  Napoleon  and  granting  pecun- 
iary advantages  to  the  members  of  his  family,  espe- 
cially an  annual  pension  of  four  hundred  thousand 
francs  for  Queen  Hortense  and  her  sons. 

Hortense  had  protectors  among  the  allies :  Prince 
Leopold  of  Saxe-Coburg,  afterwards  King  of  the  Bel- 
gians (Leopold  I.),  Prince  Metternich,  and  Comte 
de  Nesselrode,  both  of  whom  had  been  in  Paris,  one 
as  Austrian  ambassador  and  the  other  as  chief  secre- 
tary of  the  Russian  embassy,  and  both  were  then 
frequenters  of  the  Queen's  salon.  However,  she 
took  no  steps  toward  securing  the  advantages  con- 
ferred on  her  by  the  treaty  of  April  11.     On  the 

9th,    she   wrote   a   letter  from   Navarre   to     Made- 

28 


THE  FIRST  RESTORATION  29 

moiselle  Cochelet  in  which  she  said:  "My  dear 
Louise,  not  only  you  but  everybody  is  writing  to  in- 
quire what  I  want,  what  I  ask  for.  Nothing  at  all, 
I  answer.  What  can  I  desire?  When  one  has  suf- 
ficient strength  of  mind  to  make  a  great  decision  and 
to  contemplate  a  voyage  to  India  or  America  with 
coolness,  it  is  useless  to  ask  for  anything  whatever. 
Really,  I  am  not  so  very  much  to  be  pitied  person- 
ally, for  I  have  suffered  greatly  amidst  grandeurs. 
Perhaps  I  am  going  to  taste  tranquillity  and  find  it 
preferable  to  all  the  brilliant  agitation  which  sur- 
rounded me.  I  do  not  think  I  can  remain  in  France ; 
the  deep  interest  displayed  for  me  might  result  in 
giving  umbrage.  That  idea  is  crushing;  but  I  will 
cause  uneasiness  to  no  one." 

What  especially  troubled  the  Queen  was  the  fear 
that  her  sons  might  be  taken  from  her.  "  Ah !  "  she 
adds,  in  the  same  letter,  "  I  hope  that  my  children 
will  not  be  reclaimed,  for  then  I  would  have  no 
courage  left.  Brought  up  by  my  care  they  would 
find  themselves  happy  in  all  positions.  I  would 
teach  them  to  meet  either  good  or  evil  fortune 
worthily,  and  to  place  their  happiness  in  their  own 
self-approval.  That  is  worth  more  than  crowns. 
They  are  well,  and  that  makes  me  happy." 

Mademoiselle  Cochelet  replied  to  the  Queen:  "I 
have  just  seen  M.  de  Nesselrode  again;  he  asked 
many  questions  about  you.  .  .  .  Prince  Leopold 
lodges  in  the  same  house  as  the  Comtesse  de  Tascher ; 
he  is  constantly  thinking  of  you  and  your  mother; 


30  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

he  is  no  ingrate;  he  remembers  how  kind  both  of 
you  were  to  him.  .  .  .  Your  friends  insist  that  you 
shall  return  to  Malmaison  as  soon  as  the  Emperor 
Napoleon  leaves  Fontainebleau.  They  assert  that 
the  Emperor  of  Russia  intends  to  go  and  see  you  at 
Navarre  if  you  do  not  come  to  Malmaison.  So  you 
cannot  avoid  him;  and  remember  that  he  has  the 
future  of  your  children  in  his  hands." 

Hortense  replied,  April  12:  "My  resolution 
afflicts  you,  my  dear  Louise!  You  all  accuse  me 
of  childishness!  You  are  unjust!  The  advice  of 
the  Due  de  Vicence  may  be  followed  by  my  mother; 
she  will  go  to  Malmaison,  but  for  me,  /  stay;  I  must 
not  separate  my  cause  from  that  of  my  children.  It 
is  they  and  their  relatives  that  are  sacrificed  in  all 
that  is  being  done;  therefore,  I  will  not  come  to 
terms  with  those  who  are  spoiling  their  destiny.  .  .  . 
I  have  no  doubt  that  the  Emperor  of  Russia  would 
be  most  kind  to  me ;  I  have  heard  many  good  things 
about  him,  even  from  the  Emperor  Napoleon;  but 
though  I  once  had  a  curiosity  to  make  his  ac- 
quaintance, at  present  I  do  not  wish  to  see  him; 
is  he  not  our  conqueror?  .  .  .  My  mother  opposes 
all  my  plans;  she  says  she  needs  me,  but  none 
the  less  I  shall  go  to  her  who  must  be  still  more 
unhappy." 

It  was  the  Empress  Marie  Louise  who,  from 
Hortense 's  point  of  view,  must  be  the  most  un- 
happy. She  was  then  at  Rambouillet,  where  she 
was  awaiting  the  arrival  of  her  father,  the  Emperor 


THE  FIRST  RESTORATION  31 


of  Austria.  Hortense  rejoined  her  there,  April  16. 
She  met  with  a  very  cool  and  embarrassed  reception. 
Hortense  perceived  at  once  that  Marie  Louise,  al- 
though afflicted,  was  not  so  heartbroken  as  Josephine. 
"I  thought,"  the  Queen  has  said,  "that  I  was  still 
more  necessary  to  my  mother,  who  felt  so  keenly  the 
misfortunes  of  the  Emperor;  and  since  I  embarrassed 
the  Empress  Marie  Louise  instead  of  consoling  her, 
I  went  away.  Her  father  was  about  to  arrive;  I 
had,  in  fact,  met  him  on  the  road,  in  a  little  calash 
with  M.  de  Metternich." 

April  20,  Napoleon,  after  bidding  adieu  to  his 
guard,  quitted  Fontainebleau  for  the  island  of  Elba. 
The  Emperor  Alexander  may  be  said  to  have  become 
at  once  the  courtier  of  the  Empress  Josephine  at 
Malmaison.  There  Hortense  rejoined  her  mother, 
and  at  first  maintained  a  reserved  attitude  toward 
the  Czar.  M.  de  Nesselrode  said  at  the  time  to 
Mademoiselle  Cochelet:  "Your  Queen,  who  is  usu- 
ally so  amiable,  seems  not  to  be  so  with  our  sover- 
eign. This  distresses  him,  for  he  greatly  desires  to 
be  useful  to  her,  and  also  to  Prince  Eugene.  He 
finds  the  Queen  very  cold,  very  dignified;  she  has 
not  responded  to  the  offers  he  has  made  on  behalf  of 
her  children ;  it  will  not  be  easy  for  him  to  oblige 
her  if  she  refuses  so  obstinately.  As  for  the  Empress 
Josephine,  he  is  charmed  with  her  gentleness,  her 
kindness,  her  unreserve."  The  Emperor  Alexander 
had  the  greatest  desire  to  please  those  whom  he 
esteemed,  but  he  suspected  those  who  were  too  for- 


32  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

ward.  Hortense's  coolness  piqued  him  to  the  quick. 
He  returned  to  Malmaison,  and  his  exquisite  cour- 
tesy soon  won  her  over.  "I  find  a  truly  feminine 
delicacy  of  feeling  in  the  Emperor  of  Russia,"  said 
she ;  "  he  thoroughly  comprehends  our  position,  even 
our  pride  and  reserve  towards  him,  and  it  is  impos- 
sible not  to  be  grateful  to  him  for  it."  To  the  great 
despair  of  legitimist  society,  the  Czar  displayed  a 
sort  of  enthusiasm  for  Josephine,  Hortense,  and 
Prince  Eugdne.  "  What  is  the  faubourg  Saint-Ger- 
main to  me?"  said  he.  "So  much  the  worse  for 
those  ladies  if  they  have  not  captivated  me.  In  the 
Empress  Josephine  and  her  children,  I  find  all  that 
wins  admiration  and  attachment.  I  take  far  more 
pleasure  with  them,  in  the  ease  of  private  life,  than 
with  persons  who  act  as  if  they  were  possessed,  and 
who,  instead  of  enjoying  the  triumph  we  have  pre- 
pared for  them,  think  only  of  annihilating  their 
enemies,  beginning  with  those  who  so  long  protected 
them;  their  exasperation  wearies  me."  The  Czar 
wished  to  pay  a  visit  to  Hortense  at  her  house  in 
the  rue  Cerutti.  In  receiving  him  she  said:  "You 
find  my  apartment  empty;  I  have  no  longer  any  one 
to  receive  you  with  ceremony.  But  what  difference 
does  it  make  ?  Do  you  suppose  that  ante-chambers 
full  of  gilded  liveries  are  what  give  pleasure  to 
those  who  will  come  to  see  me  nowadays  ?  "  Alex- 
ander replied :  "I  was  for  the  regency,  and  especially 
wished  that  the  country  should  be  consulted;  but 
they  were  in  a  hurry  to  recall  the  Bourbons,  with- 


THE  FIRST  RESTORATION  33 

out  any  guarantees.  So  much  the  worse  for  the 
French,  if  they  turn  out  badly;  it  was  they  who 
wanted  them  and  not  I.  I  will  always  make  your 
family  respected.  ...  If  Russia  suited  you,  I 
would  be  only  too  happy  to  offer  you  a  palace ;  but 
you  would  find  the  climate  too  severe  for  your  deli- 
cate health.  .  .  .  You  are  so  much  loved  in  France ! 
Why  not  stay  here  ?  " 

May  14,  the  Czar,  wishing  to  see  the  chateau  o*f 
Saint-Leu,  was  received  there  by  Josephine  and 
Hortense.  He  came  without  ceremony,  in  a  little 
calash,  with  Comte  Tchernischeff.  The  21st  he 
visited  the  machine  of  Marly  in  company  with  Hor- 
tense and  her  children,  and  in  the  evening  dined  at 
Malmaison  with  Josephine,  who  gave  him  a  fine 
cameo,  presented  to  her  by  Pius  VII.  He  dined 
there  again,  the  23d,  together  with  the  King  of 
Prussia  and  his  sons  (the  future  Frederick  William 
IV.  and  the  future  Emperor  William).  When  they 
saw  the  two  sovereigns  arrive  Hortense 's  children, 
who  were  used  to  seeing  kings  of  their  own  family, 
asked  their  governess  if  Frederick  William  III.  and 
Alexander  were  also  their  uncles,  and  if  they  ought 
to  call  them  so.  "No,"  said  the  governess,  "you 
will  merely  say  Sire. "  She  added:  "This  Emperor 
of  Russia  is  a  generous  enemy  who  wishes  to  be  of 
use  to  you  in  your  misfortunes,  and  also  to  your 
mamma.  Except  for  him  you  would  have  nothing 
left  in  the  world,  and  the  fate  of  your  uncle,  the 
Emperor,  would  be  much  worse  than  it  is."     Prince 


34  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Napoleon  replied:  "Then  we  ought  to  love  him?" 
—  "Yes,  certainly,"  returned  Madame  de  Boubers, 
"because  you  owe  him  gratitude."  Little  Prince 
Louis  listened  to  this  conversation  without  saying 
a  word.  Soon  after,  he  tiptoed  close  to  the  Czar, 
and  very  quietly,  without  attracting  any  one's 
notice,  slipped  a  tiny  ring  into  his  hand,  and 
scampered  off  as  fast  as  possible.  His  mother 
called  him  back  to  ask  what  he  had  been  doing, 
and  the  child  replied :  "  Uncle  Eugene  gave  me  that 
ring,  and  I  wanted  to  give  it  to  the  Emperor  Alex- 
ander, because  he  is  good  to  mamma."  The  Czar 
attached  the  little  ring  to  his  watch  and  said  that 
he  would  always  wear  it.  If  Napoleon  III.  had 
recalled  more  frequently  this  incident  of  his  child- 
hood, perhaps  the  Crimean  war,  that  heroic  but  fatal 
mistake,  would  not  have  occurred. 

Alexander  returned  to  Malmaison,  May  28.  This 
time  the  Empress  Josephine  could  not  receive  him. 
She  was  suffering  from  a  throat  complaint,  the  germ 
of  which  she  had  contracted  during  an  evening 
excursion  on  the  pond  of  Saint-Cucuphat.  On  the 
following  day,  Whitsunday,  she  breathed  her  last. 
Her  funeral  took  place  June  2.  Twenty  thousand 
people  followed  the  hearse  to  the  church  of  Rueil, 
where  she  was  buried.  The  sons  of  Queen  Hortense 
were  the  chief  mourners.  Alexander,  who  had  sent 
a  representative  to  Josephine's  obsequies,  left  Paris 
the  next  day.  Before  departing  he  had  obtained 
from  Louis  XVIII.  the  erection  of  Saint-Leu  into  a 


THE  FIRST  RESTORATION  35 

duchy,  with  an  appanage,  for  the  benefit  of  Hortense 
and  her  children. 

While  his  wife  was  coquetting  with  the  allied 
powers,  King  Louis  had  maintained  the  noblest 
attitude.  He  did  not  separate  himself  from  Marie 
Louise  until  she  passed  into  the  hands  of  foreigners, 
and  then  took  refuge  at  Lausanne,  under  the  name 
of  Comte  de  Saint-Leu,  although  the  allies  had  sent 
him  an  authorization  to  reside  in  France.  On  learn- 
ing that  Louis  XVIII. ,  without  notifying  him,  had 
erected  the  domain  of  Saint-Leu  into  a  duchy,  he 
made  a  formal  protest  in  which  he  renounced  all  the 
advantages  granted  him  by  the  treaty  of  Fontaine- 
bleau  of  April  11,  1814,  adding  that  he  likewise 
renounced  them  for  his  children,  and  that  being 
simply  a  private  individual  since  his  abdication, 
and  having  refused  all  the  offers  and  rejected  the 
appanage  with  which  the  senate  decree  of  December 
10,  1810,  had  sought  to  endow  him,  he  did  not 
intend  to  retain  at  his  estate  of  Saint-Leu  other  de- 
pendencies than  those  which  were  there  in  1809,  and 
which  alone  belonged  to  him. 

Louis  was  deeply  affected  when  he  learned  that 
his  wife  had  obtained  an  audience  from  Louis 
XVIII.  to  thank  him,  and  had  been  received  most 
courteously.  M.  de  Se*monville  said  to  Mademoi- 
selle Cochelet:  "Have  you  heard  the  news?  Your 
Queen  has  turned  the  head  of  King  Louis  XVIII. ; 
he  talks  of  nobody  else;  he  is  enchanted  with  her 
wit,  her  tact,  and  all  her  ways, —  in  fact,  they  joke 


36  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

him  about  it  at  the  chateau.  'Arrange  a  divorce, ' 
they  say  to  him  in  his  family,  'and  marry  her,  since 
you  find  her  so  charming.'"  The  society  of  the 
faubourg  Saint-Germain  sharply  criticised  the  sym- 
pathy of  Louis  XVIII.  for  Hortense,  and  maintained 
that  her  salon  was  merely  a  centre  of  incessant  con- 
spiracies against  the  Bourbons.  Hortense  did  not 
conspire  personally,  but  it  is  certain  that  at  her 
house  young  Bonapartist  officers,  such  as  the  Lawoes- 
tines,  the  Flahauts,  the  La  Be'doye'res,  talked  vehe- 
mently against  the  court,  and  made  no  ceremony 
about  announcing  the  prompt  return  of  Napoleon. 

December  31,  1814,  many  ladies  who  had  gone  to 
the  Tuileries  early  in  the  evening  to  wish  the  mem- 
bers of  the  royal  family  a  happy  New  Year,  went 
afterwards  to  the  house  of  Queen  Hortense,  as  if  the 
Empire  had  not  yet  fallen.  During  the  carnival  of 
1815,  the  procession  of  the  Fat  Ox  made  its  visit 
to  the  former  Queen  of  Holland,  the  same  as  on 
preceding  years.  All  the  Bonapartists  in  Paris 
rejoiced  whenever  they  heard  Queen  Hortense 
mentioned. 

Meanwhile,  the  Queen  was  in  bitter  distress. 
King  Louis  demanded  possession  of  his  elder  son, 
while  consenting  that  the  younger  should  remain 
with  his  mother.  Hortense  having  opposed  a  plea 
in  bar  to  this  nevertheless  very  just  demand,  the 
cause  went  to  the  courts.  Two  celebrated  law- 
yers, Tripier  for  the  husband,  and  Bonnet  for  the 
wife,  pleaded   it   before  the  civil   tribunal   of   the 


THE  FIRST  RESTORATION  37 

Seine.  The  latter,  after  recalling  the  fact  that  by 
letters  patent  Louis  XVIII.  had  granted  the  duchy 
of  Saint-Leu  to  the  former  Queen  of  Holland  and 
her  descendants,  added  these  curious  words:  "All 
is  ended  by  the  signal  benefit  which  has  found 
grateful  hearts.  What  do  you  think,  then,  of  the 
indiscreet  reclamation  which  tends  to  make  a  for- 
eigner of  the  young  Due  de  Saint-Leu,  —  to  take 
him  from  his  mother,  his  country,  and  his  king?" 
The  court  was  unconvinced  by  this  argument,  and 
decided,  March  7,  1815,  that  the  elder  son  should 
be  given  back  to  his  father  within  three  months. 
But  at  the  very  moment  when  this  decision  was 
announced,  it  was  learned  in  Paris  that  Napoleon 
had  landed  in  France.     That  might  change  things. 

The  legitimists  were  so  clamorous  against  the 
Queen  that,  seeing  herself  on  the  point  of  being 
treated  as  a  suspected  person,  and  perhaps  impris- 
oned, she  resolved  to  ensure  the  safety  of  her  chil- 
dren and  had  them  taken  secretly  to  a  shopkeeper  on 
the  boulevard,  and  hid  herself  in  a  house  in  the  rue 
Duphot.  Something  told  her  that  she  would  soon 
leave  this  asylum  to  make  her  reappearance  at  the 
Tuileries,  and  that  Napoleon  could  not  have  taken 
such  a  step  without  having  substantial  chances  of  suc- 
cess. Notwithstanding  her  declarations  of  love  for 
tranquillity  and  peace,  Hortense's  soul  was  ardent 
and  craved  emotions.  With  her  adventurous  and 
romantic  character,  she  did  not  find  it  unpleasant  to 
be  present  at  the  terrible  game  about  to  be  played. 


38  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

The  hope  of  soon  beholding  the  Emperor,  whom  she 
fairly  worshipped,  enchanted  her.  Hence  she  felt 
assured  that  this  all-powerful  protector  would, 
doubtless,  grant  her  what  she  most  desired:  the 
authorization  to  keep  possession  of  both  her  sons, 
in  spite  of  the  suit  she  had  just  lost. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  HUNDRED  DAYS 

QUEEN  HORTENSE  was  not  in  the  secret  of 
the  return  from  Elba.  She  was  as  much  sur- 
prised as  the  royalists  by  the  news  of  the  Emperor's 
landing  at  the  Gulf  of  Juan.  None  the  less  it  was 
claimed  that  she  had  conspired,  and  deep  resent- 
ment was  displayed  against  her.  In  the  notes  left 
by  Napoleon  III.  under  the  title:  Souvenirs  de  ma 
Vie,  he  has  written  on  this  subject:  "The  royalists 
and  body-guards  manifested  great  irritation  against 
my  mother  and  her  children.  It  was  rumored  that 
we  were  to  be  assassinated.  One  evening,  our  gov- 
erness came  to  fetch  us  and,  followed  by  a  valet, 
she  took  us  through  the  garden  of  my  mother's 
house,  No.  8,  rue  Cerutti,  to  a  little  room  on  the 
boulevard,  where  we  were  to  remain  in  hiding. 
This  was  the  first  sign  of  a  reverse  of  fortune.  We 
were  flying  for  the  first  time  from  the  paternal  roof, 
but  our  youth  prevented  us  from  comprehending  the 
import  of  this  event;  we  were  delighted  with  the 
change  of  situation." 

Hortense,  who  had  accepted  the  title  of  Duchesse 
de  Saint-Leu,  with  an  appanage,  from  Louis  XVIII., 

39 


40  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

and  been  treated  with  great  consideration  by  the 
Emperor  Alexander,  found  herself  very  delicately 
situated  toward  both  sovereigns,  as  well  as  toward 
Napoleon.  Some  years  later  she  said  to  Madame 
R^camier:  "I  received  the  news  of  the  Emperor's 
landing  only  through  public  channels,  and  it  gave 
me  more  vexation  than  pleasure.  I  knew  the 
Emperor  too  well  to  believe  that  he  would  have 
attempted  such  an  enterprise  without  good  reasons 
to  expect  success ;  but  I  was  profoundly  afflicted  by 
the  prospect  of  a  civil  war,  and  convinced  that  it 
could  not  be  averted.  The  speedy  arrival  of  the 
Emperor  disconcerted  all  previsions ;  on  hearing  of 
the  King's  departure,  and  picturing  him  to  myself 
old,  infirm,  and  again  forced  to  quit  his  country,  I 
was  deeply  affected.  The  idea  that  he  might  at  this 
moment  accuse  me  of  treason  was  insupportable,  and 
in  spite  of  the  inconveniences  to  which  such  a  step 
might  expose  me,  I  wrote  to  him  to  exculpate  my- 
self from  all  share  in  the  events  which  had  just 
occurred." 

Hortense  may  have  been  a  royalist,  or  passed  for 
such,  during  the  whole  of  the  first  Restoration,  but 
all  her  imperialist  ardor  revived  as  soon  as  she 
found  herself  in  the  presence  of  Napoleon  I.,  her 
benefactor,  and  it  was  with  enthusiasm  that  in  the 
evening  of  March  20,  1815,  she  beheld  the  victor  of 
so  many  battles  resume  possession  of  the  chateau  of 
the  Tuileries.  She  was  awaiting  him  there,  with 
the  host  of  functionaries  who  had  remained  loyal  to 


THE  HUNDRED  DATS  41 

the  Empire,  in  the  great  illuminated  apartments, 
and  witnessed  the  frenzied  applause,  the  delirious 
joy,  the  passionate  transports,  which  saluted  his 
return. 

M.  Thiers  relates  that  Napoleon  was  affectionate 
towards  all  who  were  present,  except  Hortense,  on 
perceiving  whom  he  exclaimed,  "You  in  Paris! 
You  are  the  only  one  I  did  not  wish  to  find  here." 
The  historian  cites  other  very  severe  remarks  which 
Napoleon  may  have  added.  According  to  the  ac- 
count given  by  the  Queen  to  Madame  Re'camier,  and 
related  by  the  latter  in  her  souvenirs,  things  did  not 
happen  precisely  as  they  are  described  by  M.  Thiers. 
It  was  not  on  the  evening  of  March  20,  but  the  next 
day,  that  Napoleon  sharply  reproached  his  sister-in- 
law.  This  version  is  the  more  probable,  for  the 
Emperor  would,  doubtless,  wish  to  spare  her  a  public 
reproof. 

Here,  moreover,  is  the  story  told  by  Hortense  her- 
self to  Madame  Rdcamier:  "The  tumult  was  such 
that  I  found  it  difficult  to  approach  the  Emperor. 
He  received  me  coldly,  said  but  a  few  words,  and 
appointed  an  hour  for  me  the  next  morning.  The 
Emperor  always  frightened  me  very  much,  and  the 
tone  in  which  he  made  this  appointment  was  not 
calculated  to  reassure  me.  I  went  to  it,  neverthe- 
less, with  as  tranquil  a  countenance  as  I  was  able  to 
assume.  I  was  introduced  into  his  cabinet.  No 
sooner  were  we  alone  than  he  came  quickly  toward 
me.     'Did  you  comprehend  your  situation  so  little,' 


42  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

he  said,  brusquely,  'that  you  were  able  to  renounce 
your  name  and  the  rank  I  had  given  you,  and  to 
accept  a  title  from  the  Bourbons?  Was  that  your 
duty?' 

"'My  duty,  Sire,'  said  I,  summoning  all  my  cour- 
age to  reply,  'was  to  think  of  my  children's  future, 
since  Your  Majesty's  abdication  left  me  no  other  to 
fulfil.' 

"'Your  children! '  exclaimed  the  Emperor.  'Were 
not  your  children  my  nephews  before  they  were  your 
sons?  Have  you  forgotten  that?  Do  you  think  you 
have  the  right  to  degrade  them  from  the  rank  which 
is  theirs  ?  '  —  And  as  I  looked  at  him  in  amazement, 
he  added,  with  increasing  anger:  'Have  you  not 
read  the  Code  ?  '  I  confessed  my  ignorance,  remem- 
bering, meanwhile,  how  ill  he  used  to  take  it  if  any 
woman,  and  especially  those  of  his  family,  dared 
display  any  acquaintance  with  legislation.  There- 
upon he  volubly  explained  the  article  of  the  law 
which  forbids  any  one  to  change  the  condition  of 
minors  or  make  any  renunciation  in  their  name. 
While  speaking  he  was  striding  up  and  down  his 
cabinet,  the  window  of  which  was  open  to  the  first 
rays  of  a  lovely  spring  sun.  I  followed,  trying  to 
make  him  understand  that,  not  knowing  the  laws,  I 
had  thought  of  nothing  but  the  interests  of  my  chil- 
dren, and  taken  counsel  only  of  my  heart.  The 
Emperor  suddenly  stopped  short,  and  turning 
brusquely  towards  me,  said:  'Then  it  should  have 
told  you,  Madame,  that  when  one  has  shared  the 


THE  HUNDRED  DAYS  43 

prosperity  of  a  familj-,  one  should  know  how  to 
endure  its  adversities.'  At  these  last  words  I 
melted  into  tears." 

A  great  clamor  broke  out  at  this  moment.  Napo- 
leon approached  the  window.  The  crowd  filling 
the  garden  of  the  Tuileries  greeted  him  with 
applause,  and  Hortense  dried  her  eyes. 

The  wrath  of  the  Emperor  was  appeased.  "I 
am  a  good  father,"  said  he  to  his  step-daughter, 
embracing  her. 

Before  this  reconciliation  with  the  Emperor, 
whose  anger  had  perhaps  been  more  feigned  than 
real,  Hortense  had  written  to  her  brother,  Prince 
Eug&ne  de  Beauharnais:  "My  dear  Eugene,  an 
enthusiasm  of  which  you  have  not  the  least  idea 
has  brought  back  the  Emperor  to  France.  He  has 
received  me  very  coldly.  I  think  he  does  not 
approve  of  my  remaining  here.  He  told  me  he 
counted  on  you,  and  that  he  had  written  you  from 
Lyons.  My  God!  if  we  only  do  not  have  war!  It 
will  not  come,  I  hope,  from  the  Emperor  of  Russia; 
he  disapproves  it  so!  Ah!  talk  peace  to  him,  use 
your  influence  with  him;  the  needs  of  humanity 
demand  it.  I  hope  I  shall  soon  see  you.  I  was 
obliged  to  conceal  myself  for  twelve  days,  because  a 
thousand  rumors  were  in  circulation  concerning  me. 
Adieu,  I  am  dead  with  fatigue."  This  letter,  hav- 
ing been  intercepted,  was  laid  before  the  Congress 
of  Vienna.  Some  wished  to  see  in  it  the  proof  of 
Prince  Eugene's   participation  in  the  return  from 


44  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Elba.  But  the  Czar  defended  the  Prince,  to  whom 
the  Congress  awarded  the  enjoyment  of  his  endow- 
ments and  personal  property,  and  assigned  him  the 
chateau  of  Bayreuth  as  a  residence.  Eugene  had  no 
notion  of  rejoining  Napoleon  in  Paris.  He  remained 
in  Bavaria,  near  his  father-in-law,  King  Maxi- 
milian, while  Hortense  was  doing  the  honors  of  the 
Tuileries,  and  afterwards  of  the  Elyse'e,  where 
Napoleon  installed  himself,  April  17. 

One  thing  that  contributed  to  the  joy  caused  the 
former  Queen  of  Holland  by  the  Emperor's  return, 
was  his  authorizing  her  to  keep  possession  of  her 
two  sons,  in  spite  of  the  legal  decision  which  had 
just  condemned  her  to  restore  the  elder  to  King 
Louis.  The  latter  had  taken  refuge  at  Rome,  Sep- 
tember 24,  1814,  where  he  received  a  cordial  recep- 
tion from  Pope  Pius  VII.  During  the  Hundred 
Days,  he  thought  for  a  moment  of  returning  to 
France,  but  on  conditions  which  his  brother  would 
not  accept.  Napoleon  said,  on  the  rock  of  Saint 
Helena :  "  On  my  return  from  Elba,  in  1815,  Louis 
wrote  me  a  long  letter  from  Rome,  and  sent  me  an 
embassy;  he  said  it  was  his  treaty,  his  conditions 
for  returning  to  me.  I  replied  that  I  was  in  no  case 
to  make  treaties,  but  that,  if  he  returned,  he  was  my 
brother  and  would  be  well  received. 

"  Would  it  be  believed  that  one  of  his  conditions 
was  that  he  should  be  at  liberty  to  divorce  Hortense  ? 
I  was  very  rough  with  the  negotiator  for  having 
dared  to  burden  himself  with  such  an  absurdity,  for 


THE  HUNDRED  DAYS  45 


having  entertained  the  notion  that  such  a  thing  was 
negotiable.  I  reminded  Louis  that  our  family  stat- 
utes explicitly  forbade  it;  policy,  morality,  and 
public  opinion  were  not  less  adverse,  I  told  him 
assuring  him,  moreover,  that  if  through  his  means 
his  children  came  to  lose  their  rank,  I  would  inter- 
est myself  far  more  in  them  than  in  him,  albeit  he 
was  my  brother." 

During  the  whole  of  the  Hundred  Days  Queen 
Hortense,  who  was  in  as  great  favor  as  ever  with 
Napoleon,  exerted  a  real  influence.  It  was  through 
her  good  offices  that  the  dowager  Duchesse  d'Or- 
l<?ans,  mother  of  Louis  Philippe,  and  the  Duchesse 
de  Bourbon,  aunt  of  that  prince  and  mother  of  the 
Due  d'Enghien,  were  authorized  to  remain  in  France, 
and  received  a  pension  from  the  Emperor.  Napoleon 
treated  Hortense  as  an  affectionate  father  treats  his 
daughter.  He  protected  her  and  her  children.  The 
presence  of  the  two  princes  consoled  him  somewhat 
for  the  absence  of  the  King  of  Rome. 

The  Queen,  accompanied  by  her  two  sons,  was 
present,  June  1,  at  the  ceremony  of  the  Field  of 
May,  where  Napoleon  and  his  court  appeared  for  the 
last  time  in  all  the  splendor  of  imperial  pomp,  and 
where  the  sovereign  whom  fortune  was  about  to 
betray,  standing  erect  on  the  first  step  of  a  pyrami- 
dal platform,  exclaimed:  "Soldiers  of  the  national 
guard  of  the  Empire,  soldiers  on  land  and  sea,  I  con- 
fide to  you  the  imperial  eagle  of  the  national  colors. 
Swear  to  defend  it  at  the  cost  of  your  blood  against 


46  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

the  enemies  of  the  fatherland.  Swear  to  die  rather 
than  suffer  foreigners  to  dictate  the  law  to  the 
country."  In  the  evening  of  June  11,  Hortense 
took  her  sons  to  the  Elyse'e  to  bid  adieu  to  their 
uncle,  who  was  about  to  start  for  the  fatal  campaign 
of  which  Waterloo  was  to  be  the  issue.  The  Queen 
was  still  there  at  half-past  three  in  the  morning, 
when  Napoleon  quitted  the  Elyse'e  and  said  to  the 
wife  of  General  Bertrand,  before  entering  the  car- 
riage: "We  must  hope,  Madame  Bertrand,  that  we 
may  not  soon  have  to  wish  for  the  island  of  Elba." 
Nine  days  later,  June  21,  Napoleon  returned  van- 
quished to  the  Elyse'e.  Again  he  found  Hortense 
there.  The  next  day  she  witnessed  the  death  strug- 
gle of  the  Empire,  the  drama  of  the  second  abdica- 
tion. 

"In  the  afternoon,"  writes  Mademoiselle  Cochelet, 
"Queen  Hortense  went  to  the  Elyse'e;  I  had  the 
honor  to  accompany  her,  and  I  remained  in  the 
attendants'  room  while  Her  Majesty  was  with 
the  Emperor.  I  presently  saw  her  walking  in  the 
gardens  with  Madame  Mere,  while  the  Emperor,  a 
few  paces  away  from  them,  was  talking  with  his 
brother  Lucien.  All  of  a  sudden,  cries  of  'Long 
live  the  Emperor!'  made  us  all  rush  to  the  win- 
dows. The  crowd,  exasperated  by  the  abdication, 
was  surrounding  the  palace  and  the  gardens,  de- 
manding the  Emperor  with  loud  cries;  and  when 
they  saw  him  walking  about,  several  men  had 
climbed  over  the  walls  to  run  towards  him;   they 


THE  HUNDRED  DATS  47 


had  thrown  themselves  at  his  feet  and,  with  those 
penetrating  accents  which  come  from  the  soul,  had 
implored  him  not  to  desert  them,  to  abandon  this 
plan  of  abdication  which  reduced  them  to  despair, 
and  to  place  himself  at  their  head  to  repel  the 
enemy."  All  this  devotion  was  fruitless.  Napo- 
leon, stricken  down  by  fatality,  could  do  nothing 
more. 

Hortense  returned  home  heartbroken.  In  the  car- 
riage she  said  to  Mademoiselle  Cochelet:  "The 
Emperor  asked  if  Malmaison  belonged  to  me,  and  I 
replied  that  it  was  my  brother's,  but  it  was  all  the 
same  thing.  Then  he  said  he  wished  to  go  there 
and  begged  me  to  accompany  him." 

"And  you  consented,  Madame?" 

"  Certainly,  I  am  too  happy  to  be  able  to  show  him 
my  gratitude  for  all  he  has  done  for  me." 

"But  reflect,  Madame,  on  the  danger  of  the  cir- 
cumstances in  which  we  are ;  surely  it  is  very  unsafe 
for  you  to  identify  yourself  in  this  way  with  the 
Emperor's  fate." 

"That  is  an  additional  reason  why  I  do  not  hesi- 
tate to  do  so!  I  make  it  a  duty,  and  the  more  risks 
the  Emperor  runs  the  better  pleased  I  am  to  show 
him  all  my  devotion." 

After  placing  her  two  sons  in  safety  at  the  house 
of  Madame  Tessier,  in  the  boulevard  Montmartre, 
Hortense  went  to  Malmaison  to  receive  the  Emperor. 
He  arrived  at  about  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
June  25,  and  remained  until  five  in  the  evening, 


48  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

June  29.  This  sojourn,  the  first  station  of  his  cal- 
vary, was  a  torture  to  the  vanquished  of  Waterloo. 
Louis  XVI.  had  not  been  more  undecided,  more 
troubled,  nor  more  cast  down.  Hortense  witnessed 
all  the  agonies  of  the  man  of  destiny,  expiating  by 
moral  tortures  his  long  triumphs.  Madame  Mere 
was  the  last  member  of  the  imperial  family  who 
came  to  take  leave  of  Napoleon.  Their  separation 
was  a  scene  from  the  antique,  a  scene  worthy  of 
Plutarch.  At  the  moment  of  departure  they  ex- 
changed these  simple  words:  "Adieu,  my  son!"  — 
"  Mother,  adieu !  "  At  the  same  moment,  Hortense 
entreated  the  Emperor  to  accept  a  diamond  necklace 
which  might  be  the  last  resource  of  a  man  who  had 
distributed  so  many  treasures.  Napoleon  refused, 
but  as  Hortense  insisted  with  tears,  he  finally 
allowed  her  to  slip  the  necklace  into  his  overcoat 
pocket.  Talma,  in  the  uniform  of  a  national  guard, 
witnessed  the  farewells  of  the  hero  and  his  family. 
Never,  in  any  of  the  plays  he  had  enacted,  had  the 
great  tragedian  witnessed  a  more  pathetic  scene. 
Under  the  reign  of  Napoleon  III.  there  was  placed 
in  the  court  of  Malmaison  a  bronze  eagle  on  a  ped- 
estal with  a  commemorative  inscription,  on  the  very 
spot  where  Napoleon  entered  his  carriage,  departing 
never  to  return. 

Louis  Napoleon  was  a  child  of  only  seven  years 
when  the  drama  of  the  Hundred  Days  was  unfolded 
before  his  eyes.  But  the  spectacles  he  witnessed 
during  that  period,   so   tragic   and  so  short,   must 


THE  HUNDRED  DAYS  49 

have  left  an  ineffaceable  impression  on  his  youthful 
imagination.  He  had  seen  the  last  beams  of  the 
imperial  sun,  a  setting  sun,  but  still  magnificent. 
He  had  received  his  uncle's  caresses.  He  had  seen 
the  joy  and  the  tears  of  his  mother.  Associated 
with  the  dazzling  pomp  of  the  ceremony  of  the 
Field  of  May,  and  then  sheltered  in  the  lodging  of 
a  shopkeeper,  he  was  already  accustomed  to  vicissi- 
tudes of  fortune.  In  the  foreign  land,  where  all  his 
family  were  to  be  pursued  by  the  suspicions  and  the 
ill  will  of  the  great  European  powers,  he  could  say, 
like  the  Louis  XVII.  of  Victor  Hugo:  — 

Et  pourtant,  dcoutez,  Men  loin  dans  ma  memoire, 
J'ai  d'heureux  souvenirs  avant  ces  jours  d'effroi, 
J'entendais  en  dormant  des  bruits  confus  de  gloire, 
Et  des  peuples  joyeux  veillaient  autour  de  moi.1 

The  grand  figure  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon  was  to 
be  eternally  graven  in  the  mind  of  this  proscribed 
and  unfortunate  child,  whose  existence  was  destined 
to  know  all  the  extremes  of  good  and  evil  fortune. 
He  was  about  to  begin  an  exile  which  was  not  to 
end  until  thirty-three  years  later,  after  having  been 
interrupted  only  by  six  years  of  captivity. 

1  Yet  listen,  far  distant  in  my  memory,  —  I  have  happy  souvenirs 
before  these  frightful  days,  —  Sleeping  I  heard  the  confused  sounds 
of  glory,  — And  joyous  peoples  watched  around  me. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  FIRST  YEAES   OF   EXILE 

"I  TORTENSE  and  her  children  could  not  remain 
in  France.  The  Emperor  Alexander  no  longer 
protected  them.  They  left  Paris,  July  17,  1815,  at 
nine  o'clock  in  the  evening.  The  Queen  entered 
her  carriage  with  her  sons.  Her  equerry,  M.  de 
Marmold,  and  Comte  de  Voyna,  aide-de-camp  of  the 
Austrian  general,  and  Prince  de  Schwartzenberg, 
who  had  been  commissioned  to  guard  the  fugitives, 
followed  in  a  berline.  The  night  was  spent  at  the 
chateau  of  Bercy,  the  dwelling  of  M.  de  Nicolai, 
who  received  the  exiles  most  respectfully ;  and  then 
they  turned  towards  Switzerland.  At  Dijon,  the 
Queen  was  the  object  of  a  hostile  demonstration. 
Some  officers  of  the  royal  guard  wished  to  prevent 
her  from  continuing  her  journey,  and  to  make  her  a 
prisoner.  It  required  all  the  energy  of  M.  de  Voyna 
to  foil  this  brutal  attempt.  At  D61e  there  was  a 
different  manifestation.  The  population  was  Bona- 
partist,  and  seeing  an  Austrian  officer  near  the 
Queen,  imagined  tha,t  she  was  a  captive  and  must 
be  delivered.  Hortense  herself  had  to  undeceive 
the   crowd.     She  finally  reached  Geneva  with  her 

50 


THE  FIRST  TEARS   OF  EXILE  51 

children,  and  alighted  at  a  modest  inn,  the  HQtel  du 
Se'cheron.  As  she  had  set  off  for  Switzerland  pro- 
vided with  passports  signed  by  the  ambassadors  of 
all  the  great  powers,  she  thought  herself  safe  in 
Switzerland.  But  the  day  after  her  arrival,  the 
governor  of  the  city,  in  spite  of  M.  de  Voyna's  pro- 
tests, informed  her  that  she  must  go  away.  Not 
knowing  where  to  find  an  asylum,  she  said,  with  a 
smile,  to  the  Austrian  officer:  "Throw  me  into  the 
lake,  for  I  certainly  must  be  somewhere."  After 
quitting  Geneva,  she  went  to  Aix  in  Savoy,  which 
remained  a  French  possession  for  a  few  days  longer, 
and  where  she  had  made  several  sojourns  in  the 
splendid  imperial  times.  She  was  much  liked  there. 
The  alms  she  had  given  and  the  hospital  she  had 
founded  were  not  forgotten.  Hortense  was  still  at 
Aix  when  she  experienced  one  of  the  greatest  griefs 
of  her  life.  She  was  forced  to  part  with  her  elder 
son  in  obedience  to  the  entirely  just  claim  of  her 
husband.  Relying  on  the  suit  he  had  gained  in 
Paris,  the  effect  of  which  had  been  impeded  by 
Napoleon  on  his  return  from  Elba,  Louis,  who  had 
taken  refuge  in  Rome,  sent  Baron  de  Zuite  to  Savoy 
in  search  of  the  young  Prince  Napoleon.  This 
prince  and  his  brother  had  not  been  parted  for  a 
single  day  since  1810,  and  were  profoundly  attached 
to  each  other.  They  were  not  less  deeply  afflicted 
than  their  mother.  Mademoiselle  Cochelet  writes: 
"  I  did  not  know  how  to  soothe  the  grief  of  my  dear 
Prince  Louis,  and  divert  him  from  his  loneliness. 


%&««**" 


52  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

This  amiable  child  was  gentle,  timid,  and  reserved 
in  disposition ;  he  said  little,  but  his  mind,  at  once 
quick,  reflective,  and  penetrating,  expressed  itself 
in  well-chosen  words,  full  of  justice  and  finesse, 
which  I  liked  to  hear  and  to  repeat.  He  was  so 
grieved  by  his  brother's  departure  that  he  fell  ill 
with  a  jaundice,  which,  fortunately,  was  not  dan- 
gerous. The  Queen  became  so  seriously  ill  that  I 
nearly  went  distracted.  She  had  fainting  fits  sev- 
eral times  a  day,  which  alarmed  me  to  the  last 
degree,  and  from  which  she  recovered  only  to  fall 
into  a  state  of  depression  from  which  nothing  could 
rouse  her." 

Not  many  days  later,  the  ministers  of  the  allied 
courts  authorized  Hortense  and  her  second  son  to 
reside  in  Switzerland.  Signed  by  Castlereagh, 
Hardenberg,  Humboldt,  Weissenberg,  Rasoumosky, 
Metternich,  and  Capo  d'Istria,  the  proces-verbal  of 
their  conference  of  October  21,  1815,  was  thus 
worded :  "  The  request  of  Madame  the  Duchesse  de 
Saint-Leu  (the  powers  no  longer  gave  any  other 
name  to  Queen  Hortense),  being  conformable  to  the 
resolution  by  which  the  ministers  agreed,  in  their 
session  of  August  27,  to  authorize  her  sojourn  in 
Switzerland,  under  the  surveillance  of  the  missions 
of  the  four  courts  and  that  of  the  legation  of  His 
Most  Christian  Majesty,  and  the  French  Minister 
having  signified  that  he  finds  no  inconvenience  in 
her  settling  in  the  canton  of  Saint-Gall,  it  has  been 
agreed  that  the  respective  envoys  of  the  four  courts 


THE  FIRST   TEARS   OF  EXILE  53 


to  the  Helvetic  Confederation  shall  be  charged  to 
request  that  government  to  permit  Madame  the 
Duchesse  de  Saint-Leu  and  her  son,  together  with 
their  suite,  to  establish  themselves  in  the  canton  of 
Saint-Gall,  under  a  promise  not  to  leave  it." 

Hortense  and  her  son  quitted  Aix  in  Savoy, 
November  21,  and  in  the  evening  of  the  same  day 
arrived  at  Pregny,  near  Geneva,  a  domain  belonging 
to  the  Queen.  On  the  30th  they  were  at  Lausanne. 
They  spent  the  night  of  December  1  at  Payerne. 
On  the  6th  they  arrived  at  Zurich.  Cold,  snow, 
the  slow  pace  at  which  they  travelled,  and  the  poor- 
ness of  the  inns  all  aided  in  making  the  wanderings 
of  the  exiles  more  painful. 

The  Queen  had  just  obtained  from  the  allied 
courts  a  new  authorization  to  remain  at  Constance 
in  the  grand-duchy  of  Baden,  which  was  very  near 
Switzerland,  until  she  could  install  herself  in  the 
canton  of  Saint-Gall.  She  arrived  there  with  her 
son,  December  7.  Half  dead  with  cold  and  fatigue, 
the  Queen  had  all  the  difficulty  in  the  world  in 
climbing  the  narrow  winding  stairs  which  led  to  the 
apartment  of  the  wretched  inn  at  which  she  alighted. 

The  wife  of  Charles-Louis-Frederic,  Grand-duke 
of  Baden,  the  Grand-duchess  Stephanie,  daughter 
of  Comte  Claude  de  Beauharnais,  a  senator  under 
the  Empire,  a  peer  of  France  under  the  Restoration, 
was  a  near  relative  and  intimate  friend  of  Queen 
Hortense.  But  as  a  Frenchwoman,  a  cousin-german 
of  Hortense,  and  an  adopted  daughter  of  Napoleon, 


54  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

the  Grand-duchess  Stephanie  was  suspected  by  the 
Allies,  who  wished  her  husband  to  repudiate  her. 
Notwithstanding  her  good  will,  she  could  not  openly 
display  her  affection  for  her  cousin:  "Be  patient," 
she  wrote  to  her,  "keep  very  quiet,  and  perhaps 
by  spring  things  will  be  settled  to  everybody's  satis- 
faction; by  that  time  passions  will  be  calmed,  and 
many  things  forgotten." 

Hortense  hired  a  more  than  modest  house,  situ- 
ated on  a  tongue  of  land  near  Constance,  at  the  spot 
where  the  lake  narrows  near  the  Rhine.  She  fur- 
nished it  with  a  piano  and  some  movables  that  came 
from  Paris.  "At  last,"  she  exclaimed,  "I  have  a 
little  homey  A  few  days  afterwards  some  former 
conventionists,  who  had  been  ordered  to  leave  Berne, 
passed  through  Constance,  nearly  all  of  them  infirm 
and  in  a  state  of  destitution.  Hortense  assisted 
them  in  their  distress.  Her  reverses  of  fortune  did 
not  prevent  her  from  being  charitable. 

Hardly  had  the  Queen  taken  possession  of  her 
new  abode  when  she  received  a  visit  which  deeply 
moved  her,  that  of  the  Princess  of  Hohenzollern- 
Sigmaringen.  Born  Princess  of  Salm-Kirbourg, 
this  great-hearted  woman  had  been  married  when 
very  young  to  the  sovereign  of  the  petty  principality 
of  Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen,  on  the  Danube,  some 
eighty  kilometres  from  Stuttgart.  In  her  youth  she 
had  lived  much  in  Paris,  with  her  brother,  who  had 
built  on  the  bank  of  the  Seine  the  fine  mansion  of 
Salm,  now  the  Hdtel  of  the  Legion  of  Honor.     Inti- 


THE  FIRST  TEARS  OF  EXILE  55 

mately  connected  with  the  Vicomte  and  Vicomtesse 
de  Beauharnais,  she  had  given  their  children,  Eugene 
and  Hortense,  the  most  affectionate  care  while  they 
were  imprisoned  under  the  Terror.  At  the  time  of 
his  power  in  Germany,  Napoleon  testified  his  inter- 
est in  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Hohenzollern  by 
marrying  their  son  to  a  niece  of  Murat.  As  a  child, 
Hortense  had  found  a  protectress  in  the  Princess. 
An  exile,  she  once  more  found  a  friend  in  this  gen- 
erous woman.  The  proximity  of  Sigmaringen  had 
counted  for  something  in  the  desire  Queen  Hortense 
had  displayed  to  settle  in  Constance.  She  experi- 
enced profound  pleasure  in  receiving  the  Princess 
there,  and  returned  her  visit  at  Sigmaringen,  where 
she  was  welcomed  as  if  she  still  occupied  a  throne. 

Let  us  note,  by  the  way,  that  from  the  marriage  of 
a  Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen  with  a  niece  of  Murat 
was  born  Prince  Antoine,  who  married,  in  1834,  a 
daughter  of  the  Grand-duke  of  Baden,  and  became 
the  father  of  the  present  King  of  Roumania  and  of 
that  Prince  Leopold  whose  candidature  to  the  throne 
of  Spain  was  the  pretext,  if  not  the  cause,  of  the 
Franco-German  war  in  1870.  When  General  Prim 
proposed  this  plan,  he  fancied  that  it  would  be 
acceptable  to  Napoleon  III.  on  account  of  the  family 
connection  and  his  early  memories.  Alas!  it  was 
otherwise. 

But  let  us  return  to  the  year  1816  and  the  villa 
of  Constance.  Prince  Eugene  came  there  from 
Munich,  where  he  was  treated  with  much  generosity 


56  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

by  his  father-in-law,  the  King  of  Bavaria,  to  spend 
Holy  Week.  The  brother  and  sister  passed  eight 
days  together,  which  were  full  of  charm. 

Not  long  afterwards,  the  Queen,  accompanied  by 
Louis  Napoleon,  returned  Prince  Eugene's  visit. 
He  was  at  the  time  in  Bavaria,  near  Lake  Wurmse'e, 
in  a  fine  residence  lent  him  by  his  father-in-law  at 
Berg.  Eug&ne  and  his  wife,  the  Princess  Augusta, 
received  Hortense  most  cordially.  They  were  sur- 
rounded by  their  five  children:  Josephine,  born  in 
1807,  who,  in  1823,  married  the  Prince-royal  of 
Sweden,  afterwards  King  Oscar  I. ;  Eugenie,  born 
in  1808,  who  married  Frederick,  Prince  of  Hohen- 
zollern-Hechingen,  in  1826;  Auguste,  born  in  1810, 
who  married  Donna  Maria,  Queen  of  Portugal,  in 
1835,  and  died  two  months  after  his  marriage; 
Ame'lie,  born  in  1812,  who  married  in  1832  Dom 
Pedro  I.,  Emperor  of  Brazil;  The'odolinde,  born  in 
1814,  who  married  Count  William  of  Wurtemberg 
in  1841.  At  the  time  of  Hortense's  visit  to  her 
brother,  his  second  son,  Maximilien,  was  yet  un- 
born. He  came  into  the  world  the  following  year. 
It  was  he  who  married,  in  1839,  the  Grand-duchess 
Marie  of  Russia,  daughter  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas, 
and  was  the  father  of  the  present  dukes  of  Leuch- 
tenberg. 

Eugene  was  delighted  to  show  his  superb  children 
to  his  sister.  Carrying  her  the  youngest,  little 
The'odolinde,  "This  one  is  yours,"  said  he;  "I  think 
her  astonishingly  like  what  you  were  as  a  baby,  and 


THE  FIRST  TEARS  OF  EXILE  57 

I  greatly  hope  she  may  resemble  you  in  every  way." 
Louis  Napoleon  was  at  first  intimidated  by  the  sight 
of  so  many  unknown  faces,  but  he  was  soon  reas- 
sured and  took  great  pleasure  in  playing  with  his 
little  cousins. 

After  a  short  stay  in  Berg,  Hortense  returned  to 
Constance.  Louis  Napoleon's  studies  now  began  in 
earnest.  Accomplishments  were  taught  him  by  his 
mother;  other  things  by  his  tutor,  the  Abbe*  Ber- 
trand,  assisted  by  M.  Lebas,  son  of  a  member  of  the 
Convention.  The  young  prince  displayed  good 
qualities:  a  love  of  study,  gentleness,  and  charity. 
During  his  hours  of  recreation  he  played  with  the 
neighboring  children,  especially  with  the  son  of  the 
miller  at  the  Rhine  bridge,  and  sometimes  wandered 
beyond  the  precincts  of  the  garden.  One  day  he 
returned  home  in  shirt  sleeves  and  barefooted, 
through  mud  and  snow.  On  being  asked  how  he 
got  into  that  condition,  he  answered  that  he  had 
met  a  destitute  family,  and  that,  having  no  money, 
he  had  given  one  of  them  his  shoes  and  another 
his  coat. 

It  was  in  this  year,  1816,  that  Queen  Hortense 
began  writing  her  memoirs,  which  she  finished,  but 
of  which  only  the  fragment  including  the  years 
1831-32  has  appeared.  This  fragment  is  deeply 
interesting.  The  memoirs  are  in  the  possession  of 
the  Empress  Eugenie,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
they  may  be  published  in  their  entirety. 

In  1817,   the  Grand-duchess   of   Baden   had   ex- 


58  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

pressed  a  wish  to  go  and  see  her  cousin.  This 
project  alarmed  the  diplomatists,  who  forced  the 
Grand-duke  to  refuse  a  refuge  in  his  dominions  to  the 
exile.  Hortense  knew  not  where  to  lay  her  head. 
Now  that  Napoleon  could  no  longer  protect  her,  she 
could  apply  to  herself  these  lines  of  her  friend,  the 
poet  Arnault :  — 

De  ta  tige  detachee 
Pauvre  feuille  desseche'e, 
Oil  vas-lu?  —  Je  n'en  sais  rien, 
L'orage  a  brise  le  chene 
Qui  seul  etait  mon  soutien. 
De  son  inconstante  haleine 
Le  Zephyr  ou  I'Aquilon 
Depuis  ces  jours  me  promene 
De  la  montagne  a  la  plaine 
Et  de  la  plaine  au  vallon, 
Je  vais  oil  le  vent  me  mine 
Sans  me  plaindre  et  sans  crier. 
Je  vais  oh  va  toute  chose, 
Oil  vont  la  feuille  de  rose 
Et  la  feuille  de  laurier.1 

Hearing  of  the  Queen's  distress,  the  magistrates 
of  the  Swiss  canton  of  Thurgau,  the  nearest  one  to 
Constance,  sent  her  word  that  if  she  wished  to  estab- 
lish herself  in  their  country  both  authorities  and 

1  Torn  from  thy  stem — Poor  withered  leaf,  — Whither  goest  thou? 
—  I  know  not.  —  The  storm  has  rent  the  oak  —  Which  was  my 
sole  support.  —  With  its  inconstant  breath  —  Zephyr  or  Boreas  — 
Since  then  has  driven  me  —  From  mountain  to  plain  —  And  from 
plain  to  valley,  —  I  go  where  the  wind  leads  me  —  Without  com- 
plaint or  outcry.  —  I  go  where  all  things  go,  —  Where  go  the  rose 
leaf  —  And  the  leaf  of  laurel. 


THE  FIRST  YEARS  OF  EXILE  59 


people  would  uphold  her  in  so  doing.  Like  all  the 
newly  formed  cantons,  Thurgau  was  democratic,  and 
feared  neither  the  Bourbons  nor  their  allies.      • 

Very  grateful  for  this  hospitable  offer,  Hortense, 
February  10,  1817,  bought,  for  thirty  thousand 
florins,  the  little  chateau  of  Arenenberg  in  this 
canton.  The  house,  however,  required  many  re- 
pairs to  make  it  habitable,  and  she  was  unable  to 
live  in  it  until  1819. 

Prince  Eugene,  for  his  part,  as  soon  as  he  learned 
that  his  sister  could  no  longer  remain  in  Constance, 
urged  her  coming   to   him   in   Bavaria.     But  the 
Queen  had  so  great  a  fear  of  embarrassing  him  that 
she  would  not  at  first  consent,  and  did  so  only  after 
ascertaining    that    King    Maximilian    was    of    her 
brother's  mind.     But  even  then  she  would  not  go 
to  Munich,  where  her  presence  might  have  incom- 
moded the  court,  but  remained  at  Augsburg,  a  city 
fifty-seven   kilometres    distant,    where    her  brother 
could  visit  her  often.     She  left  Constance  with  her 
son,  May  6,  1817,  and  established  herself  at  Augs- 
burg, at  whose  excellent  university  Louis  Napoleon 
pursued  his  studies  for  more  than  four  years.     His 
first  communion  was  also  made  there.     His  father 
wrote  him  as  follows,  April  9,  1821:   "I  have  re- 
ceived your   letter   of   March    13.      I    thank    your 
mamma,  your  tutor,  and  the  abbe'  for  having  pre- 
pared you  to  fulfil  the  first  solemn  duty  proposed  to 
you  by  religion.     I  give  you  my  blessing  with  all 
my  heart.     I  pray  God  to  create  in  you  a  heart  pure 


60  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

and  grateful  to  Him  who  is  the  author  of  all  good, 
to  give  you  the  lights  necessary  to  fulfil  all  the 
duties  that  your  country  or  your  parents  may  lay 
upon  you,  and  to  render  you  always  able  to  discern 
good  from  evil.  Adieu,  my  dear,  I  embrace  you 
with  all  my  heart,  and  I  renew  on  this  solemn  occa- 
sion the  paternal  blessing  which  I  give  you  in 
thought  every  morning  and  every  night,  and  at  all 
times  when  my  imagination  turns  in  your  direction. 
Your  affectionate  father,  Louis."  At  Augsburg, 
the  Prince  also  received  the  sacrament  of  confirma- 
tion, which  Was  conferred  by  the  bishop  of  the  city, 
in  presence  of  Prince  Eugdne. 

Louis  Napoleon  was  still  at  Augsburg  when  he 
heard  of  the  Emperor's  death  at  Saint  Helena.  On 
receiving  this  news  he  wrote  his  mother  a  letter 
(published  for  the  first  time  in  English  by  Mr. 
Blanchard  Jerrold,  and  in  French  by  M.  G.  Duval), 
in  which  he  said,  under  date  of  July  24,  1821 :  "  My 
dear  mamma,  the  day  approaches  when  I  shall  see 
you  again,  and  when  I  can  try  to  console  you  for 
this  unhappy  event.  As  you  may  believe,  this 
death  has  caused  me  great  sorrow,  which  is  in- 
creased when  I  think  of  the  grief  it  will  occasion 
to  all  my  family;  happily  he  is  in  a  better  world 
than  ours,  where  he  peacefully  enjoys  the  fruit  of 
his  good  actions.  .  .  .  When  I  do  wrong,  if  I 
think  of  this  great  man,  I  seem  to  feel  a  spirit 
within  me  which  bids  me  make  myself  worthy  of 
the  name   of  Napoleon.  .   .   .     You  can  well  fancy 


THE  FIRST  TEARS  OF  EXILE  61 

the  consolations  lavished  on  me  by  M.  Le  Bas  on 
this  occasion.  He  gave  me  a  holiday  for  three 
days  after  the  sad  news  arrived.  Fortunately, 
I  am  young,  and  often  seem  to  have  forgotten 
this  misfortune,  but  although  my  habitual  gaiety 
sometimes  reappears,  that  does  not  prevent  my 
heart  from  being  sad,  nor  from  having  an  eternal 
hatred  against  the  English."  One  might  say  that 
the  mind  of  the  young  prince  was  already  haunted 
by  the  spirit  of  Napoleon,  but  his  hatred  against  the 
English  was  not  to  be  so  enduring  as  his  cult  for 
their  prisoner. 


CHAPTER  V 

ROME 

A  FTER  installing  herself,  in  1819,  at  the  ch&- 
teau  of  Arenenberg,  Queen  Hortense  used  to 
spend  the  whole  year  there,  with  the  exception  of 
the  winter  months,  which  she  passed  either  at 
Geneva  or  Rome.  In  alternating  thus  between 
Switzerland  and  the  Eternal  City,  she  entered  into 
the  views  of  the  Emperor. 

In  his  letter  on  the  History  of  France,  addressed 
to  Prince  Napoleon,  son  of  King  Jerome,  the  Due 
d'Aumale  has  written:  "No,  your  uncle  had  not 
that  aversion  to  the  papacy  with  which  you  credit 
him.  You  cannot  have  forgotten  the  curious  in- 
structions which  General  Bertrand  brought  back  to 
King  Joseph  from  Saint  Helena  in  1821.  On  his 
deathbed  Napoleon  urged  his  family  to  establish 
itself  at  Rome  and  attach  a  powerful  theocracy  to 
its  interests ;  it  would  soon  have  a  pope  and  cardi- 
nals. A  few  years  more  and  the  desire  of  Napoleon 
might  have  been  fulfilled;  one  of  your  cousins 
might  have  been  seated  on  the  throne  of  Saint 
Peter,  which  might  have  been  better  defended." 

The  instructions  alluded  to  by  the  Due  d'Aumale 

62 


ROME  63 

may  be  found  in  volume  ten  of  the  Memoirs  of  King 
Joseph,  under  the  heading :  "Extracts  from  Napoleon's 
conversation  of  April  21,  1821":  "The  Emperor 
has  desired  the  Grand  Marshal  to  say  to  Madame 
Mere  that  she  cannot  do  better  than  marry  her 
daughters  into  Roman  families;  that  they  should 
ally  themselves  with  all  the  princely  families; 
namely,  with  all  those  which  have  had  popes ;  that 
the  alliance  with  the  Hercolanis  and  the  Gabriellis 
was  well  managed;  that  he  had  strongly  disapproved 
the  Swedish  marriage  (one  of  Lucien's  daughters 
had  married  a  Swede);  that  his  nieces  might  wash 
the  feet  of  a  pope,  but  not  those  of  the  Queen  of 
Sweden  or  any  other.  The  Emperor  added  that  the 
Bonapartes  might  also  intermarry,  but  they  ought 
not  to  marry  in  France,  at  least  until  there  was  a 
change  of  government." 

Napoleon  returned  to  the  same  subject,  April  24, 
1821,  eleven  days  before  his  death.  He  said  that 
his  family  was,  in  fact,  of  Roman  origin,  there  hav- 
ing been  Bonapartes  in  Rome  in  the  year  1000 ;  that 
it  was  the  imprecations  launched  at  the  Constable 
de  Bourbon  by  a  Bonaparte  which  caused  the  sack  of 
Rome.  The  Emperor  added  that  his  name  would 
always  be  popular  in  Italy,  where  he  had  renewed 
the  souvenirs  of  the  country.  His  conclusion  was 
that  his  family  could  establish  itself  only  in  a  theoc- 
racy like  Rome,  or  a  republic  like  Switzerland, 
which  had  force  enough  to  maintain  its  indepen- 
dence.    In  making  one's  self  an  oligarch  of  Berne 


64  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

or  any  other  canton,  one  was  independent  and  owed 
nothing  to  anybody.  Madame  Mdre  should  compre- 
hend this  thoroughly.  With  a  score  of  marriages 
the  Bonapartes  could  possess  themselves  of  Rome  and 
Switzerland.  Lucien  ought  to  make  cardinals  of  his 
sons  as  soon  as  possible. 

Lucien  had  not  awaited  the  Emperor's  downfall 
to  settle  himself  in  Rome.  Pius  VII.,  who  showed 
him  the  utmost  good  will,  had,  in  1814,  made  him 
a  Roman  prince,  with  the  title  of  Canino.  Madame 
MSre  had  likewise  taken  shelter  in  the  Papal  states, 
arriving  with  her  brother,  Cardinal  Fesch,  at  the 
very  time  when  Pius  VII.  re-entered  in  triumph 
after  the  captivity  of  Fontainebleau.  The  Holy 
Father  said  to  them:  "You  are  welcome  to  Rome, 
which  has  always  been  the  fatherland  of  great 
exiles."  Madame  Mere  had  rejoined  Napoleon  at 
the  island  of  Elba,  and  during  the  Hundred  Days 
at  Paris.  When  her  son  departed  for  Saint  Helena 
she  returned  to  Rome,  where  she  arrived  August  15, 
1815.  Then  she  wrote  to  Cardinal  Consalvi,  secre- 
tary of  state :  "lam  verily  the  mother  of  all  sorrows, 
and  my  only  remaining  consolation  is  to  know  that 
the  Holy  Father  forgets  the  past,  to  remember  only 
the  kindness  bestowed  by  him  on  all  the  members 
of  my  family.  We  find  no  support  save  in  the  pon- 
tifical government,  and  our  gratitude  for  such  a 
benefit  is  great."  She  established  herself  in  the 
Falconieri  palace,  rue  Julia,  at  the  corner  of  the 
Corso  and  the  Piazza  di  Venezia.     Cardinal  Fesch 


ROME  65 

occupied  the  second  story.  This  residence  became 
the  meeting  point  for  those  members  of  the  Bona- 
parte family  who  were  not  in  exile  elsewhere. 
Lucien,  Louis,  and  Jerome  came  there  in  turn. 
They  had  been  preceded  by  Elisa  and  Pauline. 

Madame  Re*camier  has  given  some  curious  details 
concerning  Hortense's  visit  to  Rome  in  1824.     She 
arrived  with  her  two  sons  in  the  month  of  February. 
The  friend  of  M.  de  Chateaubriand  and  the  former 
Queen  of  Holland  had  not  seen  each  other  since  the 
Hundred  Days.     They  met,  to  their  great  surprise, 
in   Saint   Peter's,   where   they  prayed  beside   each 
other.     Madame    Re*camier  was    closely   connected 
with  the  French  ambassador,   the   Due   de   Laval- 
Montmorency,  and  politics  prevented  the  two  ladies 
from  exchanging  visits.     But  they  met  by  appoint- 
ment in  the  Coliseum,  and  sat  down  together  on  the 
steps  of  the  cross  in  the  middle  of  the  amphitheatre. 
Listen  to  Madame  Rgcamier:  "Night  had  come,  a 
night  of  Italy;  the  moon  was  rising  gently  in  the 
sky,  behind  the  covered  arcades  of  the  Coliseum; 
the   breeze   of   evening  resounded  in  the  deserted 
galleries.     Beside   me   was   this  woman,   herself  a 
living  ruin  of  so  astonishing  a  fortune.     A  vague 
and  undefinable  emotion  forced  me  to  silence.     The 
Queen  also  seemed  absorbed  in  reflections.     'What 
events  has  it  not  required, '  she  said  at  length,  turning 
towards  me,  ■  to  bring  about  our  meeting  here !  Events 
of  which  I  have  often  been  the  puppet  and  victim 
without  either  having  seen  or  provoked  them! '  " 

a 


66  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Some  days  later  there  was  a  masked  ball  at  the 
house  of  Torlonia,  the  banker.  Hortense  and 
Madame  Re'camier  agreed  to  wear  the  same  costume : 
a  white  satin  domino  covered  with  lace,  the  sole 
difference  being  that  Madame  R6camier  was  to  have 
a  wreath  of  roses  and  the  Queen  a  bouquet  of  the 
same  flowers.  Both  were  to  wear  their  masks  all 
the  evening.  Madame  Re'camier  entered  on  the  arm 
of  the  French  ambassador,  while  Hortense  was 
accompanied  by  Jerome  Bonaparte,  the  former  King 
of  Westphalia.  Thereupon  the  two  women  invented 
a  gay  little  conspiracy.  They  found  means  furtively 
to  exchange  the  wreath  for  the  bouquet.  The  am- 
bassador of  Louis  XVIII.  paid  court  to  Hortense, 
taking  her  for  Madame  Re'camier;  the  former  Queen 
of  Holland  was  soon  surrounded  by  all  the  represen- 
tatives of  foreign  courts,  while  Madame  Re'camier 
was  attended  by  all  the  Bonapartes  then  in  Rome. 
" However, "  she  says,  "this  ruse,  which  was  finally 
suspected,  caused  trouble  in  the  respective  societies. 
A  rumor  spread  at  the  ball  that  Queen  Hortense  and 
I  had  exchanged  disguises,  and  the  embarrassment 
of  those  who  accosted  either  of  us,  so  long  as  they 
had  not  ascertained  our  identity,  prolonged  our 
enjoyment  of  this  pleasantry.  Still,  everybody  took 
part  in  it  with  a  good  grace,  with  the  exception  of 
the  Princesse  de  Lieven,  who  always  adhered  to 
policy,  even  at  a  ball,  and  who  was  greatly  aggrieved 
at  having  compromised  herself  with  a  female  Bona- 
parte." 


SOME  67 

Soon  afterwards,  Madame  Re'camier  received  this 
letter  from  Queen  Hortense :  "  Friday  morning.  — 
My  dear  Madame,  it  seems  fated  that  I  shall  never 
have  any  pleasure,  diversion,  or  interest  without 
some  attendant  sorrow.  I  have  received  news  from 
my  brother.  He  has  been  suffering,  but  was  better, 
they  assure  me,  when  the  letter  was  sent;  but  I  am 
extremely  anxious.  I  hope  that  God  will  not  de- 
prive me  of  my  only  remaining  friend,  the  best  and 
most  faithful  man  in  existence.  ...  I  cannot  go 
out  with  you  to-day;  however,  I  shall  be  happy  to 
see  you  if  you  will  meet  me  at  Saint  Peter's.  I 
know  you  are  not  afraid  of  those  who  suffer,  and 
you  must  do  them  good.  That  I  wish  for  you  at 
present  sufficiently  proves  my  sentiments  toward 
you." 

Hortense  had  not  time  to  reach  Munich  before  the 
death  of  her  brother,  who  expired  February  24,  1824, 
in  his  forty-third  year.  The  end  of  his  life  had  been 
tranquil.  Sheltered  in  Bavaria,  near  his  father-in- 
law,  he  was  surrounded  by  universal  affection.  In 
1823  he  had  married  his  daughter  Josephine  to  the 
prince-royal  of  Sweden,  afterwards  King  Oscar  I. 

Hortense  returned,  in  deep  affliction,  to  Arenen- 
berg,  whence  she  wrote  to  Madame  Re'camier:  "This 
life  so  full  of  troubles  no  longer  disturbs  those 
whom  we  regret.  I  have  nothing  but  tears,  and 
doubtless  he  is  happy!  ...  I  am  at  present  in  my 
retreat.  Nature  is  superb.  Notwithstanding  the 
beautiful  sky  of  Italy,  I  still  find  Arenenberg  very 


68  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

lovely ;  but  I  must  always  be  attended  by  regrets ; 
no  doubt  it  is  my  destiny.  Last  year  I  was  so  con- 
tented here !  I  was  very  proud  of  neither  regretting 
nor  desiring  anything  in  this  world.  I  had  a  good 
brother  and  good  children.  At  present  I  find  it 
needful  to  remind  myself  that  there  are  still  those 
to  whom  I  am  necessary.  .  .  .  Adieu ;  do  not  forget 
me  altogether ;  believe  that  your  friendship  has  done 
me  good.  You  know  what  it  is  to  have  a  friendly 
voice  reach  you  from  your  country  in  misfortune  and 
isolation.  Pray  tell  me  again  that  I  am  unjust  if  I 
complain  too  much  of  destiny,  and  that  I  still  have 
friends." 

Louis  Napoleon  was  profoundly  grieved  by  the 
death  of  an  uncle  who  had  been  a  second  father  to 
him.  He  sadly  resumed,  in  Switzerland,  the  course 
of  his  studies.  The  year  1825  was  not  marked  for 
him  by  any  incident.  The  woman  of  whom  he  was 
to  be  the  husband,  was  born  the  following  year. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  BIRTH   OF   THE  EMPRESS 

~\  yTAY  5,  1826,  five  years  to  a  day  after  the  death 
-*-'-■-  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon  I.,  at  Saint  Helena, 
there  came  into  the  world,  at  Grenada,  the  child  des- 
tined to  be  the  wife  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon  III. 
In  1867,  the  municipality  of  the  city  put  a  mar- 
ble plaque  with  an  inscription  in  honor  of  "The 
Empress  of  the  French,  its  noble  compatriot,"  on 
the  front  of  the  house  where  she  was  born,  No.  12, 
Gratia  street. 

The  "calle  de  Gratia"  is  one  of  the  aristocratic 
streets  of  the  city.  The  houses  lining  it  are  nearly 
all  built  in  the  same  style.  The  exterior  is  usually 
very  simple,  although  embellished  with  balconies  of 
wrought  iron  in  the  Louis  XV.  style.  From  the 
time  of  the  domination  of  the  Moors,  Andalusia  has 
maintained  the  custom  of  reserving  luxury  for  the 
interior  of  houses.  The  impression  of  severity  is 
modified  as  soon  as  one  crosses  the  threshold.  The 
patio  comes  into  view  with  its  graceful  colonnades 
of  marble  surrounding  the  central  fountain  where 
the  water  flows  amidst  flowers,  and  all  whose  cor- 
ners are  occupied  with  narrow  benches  with  long 

69 


70  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

wooden  backs,  spreading  at  the  top  into  the  form  of 
a  shield  bearing  the  arms  of  the  family  and  its  alli- 
ances. The  doors  of  the  chambers  and  boudoirs 
open  upon  this  patio,  a  summer  residence  whose 
atmosphere  is  always  kept  fresh  by  an  ingenious 
system  of  aeration.  The  reception-rooms  are  on 
the  first  story.  Such  is  even  now  the  Guzman  resi- 
dence in  Grenada,  where  the  Empress  Euge'nie  first 
saw  the  light. 

In  the  acts  of  her  birth  and  baptism  the  future 
sovereign  is  designated  under  the  name  of  Marie- 
Euge"nie-Ignace- Augustine,  daughter  of  Don  Cipri- 
ano  Guzman  Palafox  y  Porto-Carrero,  Count  of 
Teba,  Marquis  of  Ardales,  grandee  of  Spain,  and  of 
Maria-Manuela  de  Kirkpatrick  y  Grivegne*e,  Countess 
of  Teba,  Marchioness  of  Ardales. 

At  the  time  of  the  Empress's  birth  her  father  was 
styled  the  Comte  de  Teba.  He  did  not  assume  the 
title  of  Comte  de  Montijo,  belonging  to  his  elder 
brother,  the  head  of  the  family,  until  after  the  lat- 
ter's  death.  The  most  illustrious  souvenirs  relate 
to  this  family,  whose  origin  goes  back  much  farther 
than  the  institution  of  nobility.  Among  its  ances- 
tors it  counts  Alfonso  Perez  de  Guzman,  that  hero 
whose  exploits  are  still  recounted  by  Spanish  peas- 
ants, Gonzalvo  de  Cordova,  surnamed  the  Great  Cap- 
tain, and  Antonio  de  Leve,  the  most  skilful  of  the 
generals  of  Charles  Fifth. 

Don  Alfonso  Perez  de  Guzman,  born  at  Valla- 
dolid,  in  1278,  died  in  1320,  has  left  a  legendary 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  EMPRESS  71 


memory.     He  was  governor  of  Tarifa,  under  Sancho 
IV.,  King  of  Castile,  when  the  place  was  besieged 
by  the  Infante  Don  Juan,  in  revolt  against  the  King, 
his  brother.     Don  Juan,  who  had  taken  prisoner  a 
son  of  Guzman,  threatened  the  father  with  cutting 
the  child's  throat  under  the  walls  of  the  fortress  if 
he  would  not  surrender  it.     Guzman's  only  reply 
was  to  throw  down  a  cutlass  into  the  ditch  below 
the  ramparts.     The  child's  throat  was  cut,  but  the 
besiegers,  forced  to  raise  the  siege,  beat  a  retreat. 
It  was  in  memory  of  this  stoical  loyalty,  immortal- 
ized by  the  verses  of  Lope  de  Vega,  that  the  Guzman 
family  took  the  noble  device:  "My  King  before  my 
Kin." 

The  Comte  de  Montijo  and  his  younger  brother, 
the  Comte  de  Teba,  father  of  the  Empress,  both  dis- 
tinguished themselves  in  Spain  in  the  first  years  of 
this  century,   but  they  adopted   different   lines   of 
conduct.     The  one  was  opposed  to  France,  the  other 
was  her  partisan.     In  March,  1808,  when  the  mob 
tried  to  prevent  Charles  IV.  from  quitting  Aranjuez 
by  force,  the  Comte  de  Montijo  was  foremost  amongst 
those  who  sought  to  impede  his  departure.    Concern- 
ing this  matter  M.  Thiers  has  written  in  his  History 
of  the  Consulate  and  the  Empire:    "The  throng  at 
Aranjuez  was  extreme,  and  the  most  sinister  and 
strange  faces  began  to   appear  there.     A  singular 
personage,   persecuted  at  court,  who  united  to   the 
birth  and  fortune  of  a  great  noble  the  art  and  incli- 
nation to  move  the  popular  masses,  was  in  the  midst 


72  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

of  this  crowd,  ready  to  give  the  signal  for  the  insur- 
rection." The  Comte  de  Monti  jo,  uncle  to  the 
Empress,  declared  himself  energetically  against  the 
French  invasion.  He  was  one  of  the  principal  lead- 
ers of  the  insurrection  in  the  kingdom  of  Valencia, 
and  fought  against  the  troops  of  Marshal  Moncey. 

Unlike  M.  Thiers,  who  expresses  himself  in  rather 
contemptuous  terms  concerning  the  Comte  de  Mon- 
tijo,  M.  Auguste  Filon  has  eulogized  him  greatly  in 
his  fine  study  on  Merime'e:  "At  the  beginning  of 
the  century,"  he  says,  "the  Comte  de  Monti  jo  came 
very  near  changing  the  fate  of  the  Spanish  nation, 
and  wresting  his  country  from  the  most  humiliating 
of  tyrannies.  He  was  akin  to  the  conspirators  of 
old  by  his  audacity,  and  to  the  modern  revolution- 
ists by  the  breadth  of  his  views.  He  entered  the 
palace  of  Aranjuez  at  the  head  of  a  small-  but  reso- 
lute troop,  and  for  several  hours  kept  the  upper 
hand  of  the  King,  the  Queen,  and  the  favorite 
Godoy.  But  the  nation  remained  inactive,  and  not 
a  voice  replied  to  his  appeal.  Eugenio  de  Monti  jo 
was  regarded  as  a  madman  because  he  failed;  he 
would  have  been  a  hero  had  he  succeeded.  His 
brother  Cipriano  (Don  Cipriano  Guzman  Palafox  y 
Porto-Carrero,  Comte  de  Teba,  father  of  the  Em- 
press) offered  his  sword  to  Napoleon." 

Ardent  by  nature,  the  Comte  de  Teba  was  impas- 
sioned by  the  glory  of  the  victor  of  Austerlitz,  in 
whom  he  thought  he  saw  the  regenerator  of  Spain. 
He  distinguished   himself  among  those  whom  his 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  EMPRESS  73 

compatriots  called  the  afrancesados,  and  served  glori- 
ously under  the  banners  of  France.  At  the  battle 
of  Salamanca,  also  called  the  battle  of  Arapiles,  he 
lost  an  eye,  and  had  a  leg  broken  by  a  cannon  ball. 
A  colonel  of  artillery  in  1814,  he  was  again 
wounded  at  Buttes-Chaumont,  where  he  commanded 
the  students  of  the  Polytechnic  School.  Invaded 
France  was  not  defended  more  valiantly  by  any 
Frenchman  than  by  this  Spaniard.  He  fired  the 
last  discharges  of  cannon  which  delayed  for  a  day 
the  entry  of  the  allies  into  Paris,  and  as  M.  Auguste 
Filon  has  said,  "It  is  amidst  this  smoke  that  one 
loves  to  contemplate  that  beautiful  pale  face,  en- 
nobled rather  than  disfigured  by  the  terrible  wound 
which  had  deprived  him  of  an  eye,  that  soldier 
philosopher,  his  brain  haunted  by  vague  dreams  of 
deliverance  and  progress,  and  bearing  his  misfortune 
proudly  to  the  last." 

Averse  to  the  reactionary  policy  of  King  Ferdi- 
nand VII.,  the  Comte  de  Teba  did  not  at  once  return 
to  Spain.  It  was  at  Paris,  in  1814  and  1815,  that 
he  began  to  pay  court  to  a  charming  young  girl 
whom  he  aspired  to  marry.  He  met  her  at  the 
house  of  M.  and  Madame  Mathieu  de  Lesseps  who 
then  lived  at  No.  17  rue  Saint-Florentin.  This 
young  girl,  a  native  of  Madrid,  was  called  Maria 
Manuela  de  Kirkpatrick.  Her  genealogy  is  clearly 
established  in  the  notes  left  by  her  cousin-german, 
Ferdinand  de  Lesseps,  the  illustrious  creator  of  the 
Suez  canal. 


74  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Maria  Manuela  de  Kirkpatrick,  who  married  the 
Comte  de  Teba,  afterwards  the  Comte  de  Montijo, 
and  became  the  mother  of  the  Empress  Euge*nie,  was 
descended  from  one  of  the  most  ancient  and  honor- 
able families  of  the  Low  Countries,  that  of  Grive- 
gne'e, whose  members  lived  in  Liege  and  were 
several  times  enrolled  among  its  aldermen. 

Henri  de  Grivegne'e,  born  at  Li&ge,  June  2,  1784, 
established  himself  at  Malaga,  where  he  married  a 
Spanish  woman,  Dona  Antonia  de  Gallegos.  From 
this  marriage  two  daughters  were  born,  Franchise 
and  Catherine. 

Franchise  de  Grivegne'e  married,  at  the  close  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  Baron  William  Kirkpatrick 
of  Closeburn,  born  at  Dumfries,  in  Scotland,  and 
belonging  to  an  illustrious  family,  the  head  of  which 
had  been  created  a  baron  by  Alexander  III.,  King  of 
Scotland,  in  1227.  William  Kirkpatrick's  devotion 
to  the  cause  of  the  Stuarts  forced  him  to  leave  Eng- 
land in  order  to  escape  persecution.  He  emigrated 
to  the  United  States  at  the  period  when  they  pro- 
claimed their  independence,  and  the  new  govern- 
ment appointed  him  its  consul  at  Malaga. 

At  this  epoch  Mathieu  de  Lesseps  was  residing  at 
Cadiz  in  the  capacity  of  special  charge*  d'affaires  of 
the  French  republic  in  that  city.  He  married  the 
second  daughter  of  Henri  de  Grivegnee  and  Antonia 
de  Gallegos,  Catherine  de  Grivegne'e,  who  was  born 
June  11,  1774,  and  died  January  21,  1853,  just 
before   the   marriage    of   her   great-niece   with   the 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  EMPRESS  75 

Emperor  Napoleon  III.  Mathieu  de  Lesseps,  pre- 
fect and  count  of  the  Empire,  died  consul-general 
of  France,  at  Tunis,  in  1832.  From  his  marriage 
with  Catherine  de  Grivegne'e  were  born  Theodore 
(director  of  consulates  and  then  senator  under  the 
Second  Empire);  Ad&le  (who  married  Dr.  Cabarrus, 
the  son  of  Madame  Tallien);  Ferdinand  (the  creator 
of  the  Suez  canal);  and  Jules  (who  represented  the 
Bey  of  Tunis  at  Paris). 

Baron  Kirkpatrick  and  Mathieu  de  Lesseps  became 
friends  in  Spain  and  renewed  their  friendship  in 
France.  Maria  Manuela  Kirkpatrick,  after  com- 
pleting her  education  in  a  Parisian  school,  went  to 
the  house  of  her  aunt,  Madame  Mathieu  de  Lesseps, 
and  there,  as  we  have  already  said,  made  the 
acquaintance  of  the  Comte  de  Teba.  The  Count 
and  the  young  girl  returned  to  Spain  almost  at  the 
same  time,  and  were  married  in  Grenada,  December 
i5.     From   this   marriage   was   born,    January   29, 

1825,  Franchise  (the  Duchesse  d'Albe),  and  May  5, 

1826,  Eugenie  (the  Empress). 

Maria  Manuela  Kirkpatrick,  Comtesse  de  Teba, 
and  later  de  Montijo  (mother  of  the  Duchesse 
d'Albe  and  of  the  Empress  of  the  French),  had  a 
sister,  Henrietta  Kirkpatrick,  who  married  the  Comte 
Francois  de  Cabarrus,  son  of  the  former  minister  of 
finances  to  King  Charles  III.  of  Spain,  and  brother 
of  Therezia  Cabarrus,  the  celebrated  woman  who  was 
successively  the  Marquise  de  Fontenay,  Madame 
Tallien,  and  the  Princesse  de  Chimay. 


76  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

The  following  table  sums  up  the  genealogy  of  the 
Empress  Eugenie  and  her  relationship  with  M.  Fer- 
dinand de  Lesseps. 

Henri  de  Grivegnee,  married  to  Antonia  de  Gallegos. 

I 

Francoise  de  Grivegnee,  Catherine  de  Grivegnee, 

married  to  Baron  Kirkpatrick.     married  to  Mathieu  de  Lesseps. 


Manuela,  Comtesse  de  Montijo.  Ferdinand  de  Lesseps. 


The  Empress  Eugenie. 


Hence  the  Comtesse  de  Montijo  and  Ferdinand  de 
Lesseps  were  cousins-german,  and  the  man  who 
pierced  the  isthmus  of  Suez  was  the  uncle,  in  Brit- 
tany fashion,  of  the  sovereign  of  the  French.  This 
was  one  reason  why  the  Empress  was  so  deeply 
interested  in  one  of  the  greatest  enterprises  of  the 
century,  and  presided  in  such  fairy-like  splendor  at 
the  opening  of  the  Suez  canal. 


CHAPTER  VII 
1830 


TTTHILE  the  child  destined  to  be  one  day  the 
Empress  of  the  French  was  beginning  life  in 
Malaga,  Louis  Napoleon,  having  quitted  the  uni- 
versity of  Strasburg,  was  pursuing  his  studies  in 
Switzerland.  He  took  the  courses  in  artillery  and 
engineering  at  Thun,  in  the  canton  of  Berne,  under 
the  direction  of  the  brave  colonel  (afterwards  gen- 
eral) Dufour,  formerly  an  officer  in  Napoleon's  army. 
During,  the  great  manoeuvres  the  young  prince 
marched  from  ten  to  twelve  leagues  a  day,  loaded 
with  a  knapsack,  and  slept  in  a  tent  at  the  foot  of 
glaciers. 

Early  in  the  year  1829,  Louis  Napoleon  desired  to 
enlist  under  the  Russian  flag  and  fight  against  the 
Turks.  January  19,  he  wrote  the  following  letter  to 
his  father,  which  was  published  for  the  first  time  by 
M.  Fernand  Giraudeau  in  his  fine  work  entitled, 
Napoleon  III.  intime :  "  My  dear  Papa,  I  have  come 
to  a  great  determination  which  I  hope  you  will 
approve,  because  it  is  so  fine  and  noble.  Allow  me 
to  say  that  I  love  you  with  all  my  heart,  and  desire 
your   permission   above    all.      I    am    inexpressibly 

77 


78  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

anxious  to  make  the  campaign  against  the  Turks 
next  spring,  as  a  volunteer  in  the  Russian  army. 
Mamma,  to  whom  I  have  spoken  of  the  matter,  has 
wavered  greatly,  but  feeling  how  useful  it  might  be 
to  me,  has  fully  consented.  As  far  as  she  can  judge 
from  his  relations  with  her,  the  Emperor  would  be 
very  kind  to  me ;  I  would  doubtless  be  on  his  staff. 
Mamma  would  select  a  former  military  man  to 
accompany  me.  Lastly,  I  would  do  something 
worthy  of  you!  If  you  will  consent,  everything 
will  go  wonderfully  well,  and  mamma  will  make  an 
application  to  the  Emperor.  Ah!  my  dear  papa, 
remember  that  you  were  not  as  old  as  I  when  you 
had  already  covered  yourself  with  glory!  In  mak- 
ing this  campaign  as  a  volunteer  (which  would  bind 
me  to  nothing)  I  could  have  the  advantage  of  in- 
structing myself  perfectly,  of  displaying  to  the 
world  the  courage  I  received  from  you  at  birth,  and 
thereby  of  attracting  general  interest.  My  aunt, 
the  Grand-duchess  of  Baden,  to  whom  I  mentioned 
it  some  months  ago,  induced  me  to  ask  your  permis- 
sion, saying  that  it  was  an  action  very  worthy  of 
one  who  is  your  son.  Finally,  my  dear  father,  I 
beg  you  to  answer  me  as  soon  as  possible.  Consider 
that  I  desire  so  greatly  to  make  this  campaign  that 
if  you  will  not  give  me  your  consent  and  blessing 
before  I  start,  I  shall  die  of  vexation.  Adieu,  my 
dear  papa,  I  entreat  you  again,  in  the  name  of  all 
you  hold  most  dear,  permit  me  to  render  myself 
worthy  of  your  name." 


1830  79 

King  Louis  replied:  — 

"  I  suspected  that  the  great  victories  of  the  Rus- 
sians over  the  barbarous  Mussulmans  would  arouse 
your  warlike  ardor.  But  your  understanding  and 
your  qualities  are  so  good  that  a  little  reflection 
will  calm  you  thoroughly.  .  .  .  War,  excepting 
the  case  of  legitimate  defence,  that  is  to  say,  unless 
it  is  made  for  the  welfare  of  one's  country  and  in  de- 
fence of  its  homes,  is  simply  a  barbarity,  a  ferocity, 
which  differs  from  that  of  savages  and  ferocious 
beasts  only  by  greater  skill,  deceit,  and  futility  in 
its  object.  .  .  .  This  is  enough  on  that  head.  I 
can  only  conclude  by  repeating  what  I  have  often 
said  to  you:  A  man  should  fight  for  Mb  country  only." 

Louis  Napoleon  yielded  regretfully  to  his  father's 
wishes.  March  3,  1830,  he  addressed  him  a  letter 
ending  thus :  "  Adieu,  my  dear  papa,  believe  in  my 
sincere  attachment.  I  have  proved  its  reality  by 
renouncing  my  project,  for  had  I  not  loved  you  so 
well  I  could  not  have  resisted  the  desire  to  carry  it 
out,  even  against  your  will." 

April  21,  he  wrote  again:  "To-day  I  am  twenty- 
one;  I  have  attained  majority:  but  I  see  in  that 
only  another  reason  to  obey  you  always,  and,  follow- 
ing your  advice,  to  become  worthy  of  you.  I  cannot 
employ  this  day  better  than  in  writing  to  my  dear 
father  to  assure  him  anew  of  my  sincere  attachment 
and  tender  gratitude." 

Nevertheless,  the  young  prince,  athirst  for  action 
and  tormented  by  an  ardent  ambition  to  distinguish 


80  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

himself  in  some  way,  chafed  with  impatience  while 
awaiting  an  opportunity  for  action.  In  July  he 
imagined  that  the  time  had  come. 

The  revolution  of  1830  was  the  retaliation  of  the 
tricolor  on  the  white  flag,  the  result  of  the  alliance 
contracted  during  the  whole  period  of  the  Restora- 
tion between  the  republicans  and  the  imperialists. 
It  originated  in  what  might  be  called  the  policy  of 
Be'ranger's  Chansons. 

In  a  very  curious  opuscule  entitled :  Napoleon  I. 
since  his  death,  M.  Ernest  Legouve  has  written : 
"  Requiescant  in  pace  —  they  rest  in  peace  —  does 
not  apply  to  all  the  dead.  Some  of  them  are  more 
active  than  when  alive.  Very  few  statesmen  at  the 
head  of  our  government  within  sixty  years  have 
been  more  deeply  implicated  in  our  affairs  while  in 
this  world  than  Napoleon  has  been  since  he  left  it. 
This  shade  re-enters  active  life,  this  dead  man 
becomes  a  party  chieftain.  The  liberals  enroll  him 
in  their  ranks.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  nothing  is 
more  absurd  than  this  amalgam  of  Bonapartism  and 
liberalism.  But  the  masses  do  not  look  into  things 
so  closely.  Nor  young  men  either ;  all  of  us,  boys 
of  from  eighteen  to  twenty,  were  at  the  same  time 
frantic  Bonapartists  and  frantic  liberals.  As  to  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  political  leaders,  it  was  premedi- 
tated ;  the  alliance  with  Napoleon  brought  them  two 
powerful  auxiliaries:  the  people  and  the  army. 
Hence  they  used  his  name  as  a  weapon  against  the 
Bourbons;  so  much  so  that,   when  the  July  ordi- 


1830  81 

nances  precipitated  the  entire  people  on  Paris  in  an 
attack  on  the  monarchy,  one  might  say  that  the 
assailants  were  led  by  the  captive  of  Saint  Helena : 
Napoleon  is  one  of  the  July  combatants." 

Instructors  of  the  conscripts  of  the  riot,  during 
the  three  days  the  veterans  of  the  Empire  led  the 
charge  against  their  former  companions  in  arms, 
large  numbers  of  whom  were  in  the  ranks  of  the 
royal  guard.  The  men  who^vere  ignorantly  laying 
the  foundations  of  the  throne  of  Louis  Philippe, 
believed  themselves  to  be  fighting  for  the  King  of 
Rome. 

Read  Victor  Hugo's  poem  entitled:  "Dictated 
after  July,  1830."  It  is  a  sort  of  Napoleonic  can- 
tata. What  says  the  poet  to  the  victors  of  the  three 
days? 

Trois  jours  vous  ont  suffi  pour  briser  vos  entraves. 
Vous  etes  les  aines  d'une  race  de  braves; 
Vous  etes  les  Jils  des  ge'ants. 

Cest  pour  vous  qu*ils  tracaient  avec  des  fune'railles 
Ce  cercle  triomphal  de  plaines  de  batailles, 
Chemin  victorieux,  prodigieux  travail, 
Qui,  de  France  parti  pour  enserrer  la  terre 
En  passant  par  Moscou,  Cadiz,  Rome  et  le  Caire, 
Va  de  Jemmapes  a  Montmirail. 

Vous  etes  les  enfants  des  belliqueux  lycees! 
La  vous  applaudissiez  nos  victoires  passees. 
Tous  vos  jeux  s'ombrageaient  des  plis  (Tun  etendard 
Souvent  Napoleon,  plein  de  grandes  pensees, 
Passant  les  bras  croises  dans  vos  lignes  pressees, 
Aimanta  vos  fronts  <Tun  regard. 


82  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Aigle  qu'ils  devaient  suivre!    Aigle  de  noire  arme'e, 
Dont  la  plume  sanglante  en  cent  lieux  est  semde, 
Dont  la  tonnerre  un  soir  s'e'teignit  dans  les  /lots, 
Toi,  qui  les  a  couve's  dans  I'air  paternelle, 
Regarde,  et  sois  joyeuse,  et  crie,  et  bats  de  Vaile, 
Mere,  tes  aiglons  sont  e'clos!1 

If  the  Napoleonic  legend  excited  to  this  degree 
men  who  had  no  personal  interest  in  developing 
it,  one  easily  comprehends  what  effect  it  must 
have  produced  on  the  ardent  youths  who  bore  the 
Emperor's  name  and  were  his  nephews.  The  revo- 
lution of  July,  made  in  the  name  of  the  tricolored 

1  Three  days  have  been  enough  to  break  your  chains. 
You  are  the  eldest  of  a  race  of  heroes, 
You  are  the  sons  of  giants. 

'Twas  for  you  they  traced  with  funerals 
That  triumphant  circle  of  plains  and  battles, 
Victorious  pathway,  prodigious  labor, 
Which,  starting  from  France  to  surround  the  world, 
And  passing  by  way  of  Moscow,  Cadiz,  Eome,  and  Cairo, 
Goes  from  Jemmapes  to  Montmirail. 

You  are  the  pupils  of  warlike  schools  ! 
There  you  applauded  our  past  victories. 
The  folds  of  a  standard  shaded  all  your  sports. 
Often  Napoleon,  full  of  great  thoughts, 
Passing  with  folded  arms  amid  your  crowded  ranks, 
Magnetized  your  foreheads  with  a  glance. 

Eagle  whom  they  must  follow  !    Eagle  of  our  hosts, 
Whose  bloody  plumes  in  thousand  fields  are  strewn, 
Whose  bolt  one  eve  was  quenched  beneath  the  floods, 
Thou  who  hast  brooded  them  in  the  paternal  air, 
Look  and  be  glad,  and  scream,  and  beat  thy  wings, 
Mother,  thine  eaglets  have  chipped  the  shell. 


18S0  83 

flag,  filled  the  sons  of  Louis  Bonaparte  with  enthusi- 
astic joy.  "This  revolution,"  their  mother  writes, 
"  found  my  eldest  son  in  Tuscany,  in  the  midst  of 
the  industrial  inventions  with  which  he  had  occu- 
pied himself  since  his  marriage  for  lack  of  some- 
thing better,  and  my  youngest  in  Switzerland,  where 
he  was  studying  artillery  and  engineering.  Both  of 
them  seemed  recalled  to  new  life  by  the  news  of  the 
events  in  Paris.  Although  apart,  their  impressions 
were  the  same :  keen  regrets  at  having  been  unable 
to  fight  with  the  Parisians,  enthusiasm  over  their 
heroic  conduct,  and  the  legitimate  hope  of  serving 
that  fair  France  they  loved  so  much.  They  said  to 
me:  'At  last  she  is  free!  Exile  is  ended,  the  father- 
land is  open ;  we  will  save  her,  no  matter  how ! ' 
Such  were  the  contents  of  all  their  letters.  I  was 
far  enough  from  sharing  their  hopes." 

Queen  Hortense  received  many  letters  at  this 
period.  Some  of  them  said :  "  Come,  we  are  free  at 
last,  and  we  are  to  see  you  again ! "  The  others : 
"We  thought  of  your  cause  when  fighting."  Her 
son,  Louis  Napoleon,  wrote  her,  August  12:  "The 
tricolored  flag  is  floating  in  France!  Happy  they 
who  could  be  the  first  to  restore  its  former  glories!  " 
And  on  the  14th:  "I  hope  that  after  these  events 
we  shall  be  allowed  to  enjoy  the  rights  of  French 
citizens.  How  glad  I  should  be  to  see  soldiers  with 
the  tricolored  cockade !  "  Queen  Hortense  had  more 
experience  than  her  children.  Their  illusions  dis- 
tressed her.     It  was  not  the  combatants  of  July  who 


84  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

were  to  profit  by  the  revolution.  The  sic  vos  non 
vobis  received  its  application. 

At  the  very  time  when  Napoleon  seemed  the 
object  of  universal  enthusiasm  at  Paris,  and  when 
his  memory  attracted  not  merely  fanatics  but  devo- 
tees, his  family  continued  to  be  proscribed  in  virtue 
of  article  4  of  the  law  of  January  12,  1816,  which 
was  thus  expressed:  "The  ascendants  and  descend- 
ants of  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  his  uncles  and  aunts, 
nephews  and  nieces,  his  brothers,  their  wives  and 
their  descendants,  his  sisters  and  their  husbands,  are 
excluded  from  the  kingdom  in  perpetuity,  and  are 
bound  to  leave  it  within  a  month  under  the  penalty 
imposed  by  article  9  of  the  penal  code."  This  same 
law  of  January  12,  1816,  had  likewise  proscribed  a 
list  of  regicides.  Article  7  was  as  follows:  "Those 
of  the  regicides  who,  in  contempt  of  a  boundless 
clemency,  have  voted  for  the  Additional  Act  or 
accepted  functions  or  employments  from  the  usurper 
and  thereby  declared  themselves  irreconcilable  ene- 
mies of  France  and  the  legitimate  government,  are 
excluded  in  perpetuity  from  the  kingdom;  they 
cannot  enjoy  any  civil  right  therein,  or  possess  any 
property,  titles,  or  pensions  bestowed  upon  them 
gratuitously." 

September  2,  1830,  the  chamber  of  deputies  occu- 
pied itself  with  the  law  of  January  12,  1816.  It 
put  an  end  to  the  proscription  of  the  regicides, 
and  maintained  it  for  all  members  of  the  Bonaparte 
family.     Article  7,  which  exiled  the  regicides,  was 


i8so  85 

abrogated,  and  article  4,  which  proscribed  the  Bona- 
partes,  was  the  object  of  the  following  stipulation: 
"  Nothing  is  abated  from  the  provisions  contained  in 
article  4  of  the  law  aforesaid."  Not  one  voice  arose 
in  favor  of  the  Napoleonic  family.  The  Emperor's 
name  was  not  even  mentioned. 

No  proscriptive  law  against  Charles  X.  and  his 
family  had  yet  been  decreed.  (The  Bourbons  of  the 
elder  branch  were  not  outlawed  until  April  10, 
1832.)  In  1830  the  only  exiles  were  the  Bona- 
partes,  and  why  were  they  banished?  Because  they 
were  relatives  of  that  Napoleon  whom  France  was 
hailing  as  a  demigod?  All  his  marshals,  all  his 
generals,  were  overwhelmed  with  honors,  and  his 
kindred  were  proscribed !  Such  an  anomaly  wounded 
the  heart  of  Queen  Hortense.  She  made  no  public 
complaint.  But  in  her  private  letters  she  breathed 
forth  all  her  sadness.  "I  have  just  read,"  she 
wrote,  "a  law  which  amazes  as  much  as  it  afflicts 
me.  What!  in  this  moment  of  enthusiasm  and  of 
liberty  ought  not  France  to  open  her  arms  to  all  her 
children,  to  those  who  for  fifteen  years  have  shared 
humiliation  and  suffering  with  her?  Instead  of 
that,  for  one  single  family  an  act  of  proscription  is 
renewed.  What  are  its  crimes  ?  Was  it  not  driven 
out  by  foreigners?  Was  it  not  France  which  it 
served?  To  fear  this  family  is  to  do  it  an  honor 
which  it  repels.  Its  head  exists  no  longer.  If  he 
conferred  a  grandeur  and  glory  which  at  last  are 
accepted,  ought  they  to  reject  all  who  belonged  to 


86  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

him  instead  of  paying  a  sacred  debt  by  executing 
the  treaty  made  by  him  for  his  family?"  Hortense 
added,  in  speaking  of  the  relatives  of  Napoleon: 
"There  they  remain,  with  all  their  misfortunes, 
unprotected  and  a  prey  to  every  annoyance  which 
governments  take  pleasure  in  heaping  on  them. 
What  can  I,  who  only  seek  to  temper  their  youth 
and  maintain  in  them  the  love  of  country  and  of 
justice,  say  to  my  children?  All  I  can  do  is  to 
teach  them  that  although  men  are  ingrates  and 
egotists  one  must  still  love  them,  and  that  it  is 
sweeter  to  pardon  than  to  inflict  suffering. 

"Adieu;  you  wished  to  hear  from  me,  and  you 
see  that  the  impression  of  the  moment  is  painful. 
I  did  not  expect  to  go  to  Paris ;  far  from  that ;  I  was 
making  preparations  for  a  journey  to  Italy.  But 
the  sight  of  this  law,  which  expels  us  forever  from 
that  France  we  love  so  much,  and  where  we  still 
hoped  to  die,  has  renewed  all  my  griefs.  The  pro- 
scription announced  in  days  of  misfortune  was  no 
doubt  painful,  but  it  came  from  enemies.  To  have 
it  renewed  by  those  whom  we  believed  our  friends 
strikes  directly  at  the  heart." 

The  former  Queen  of  Holland  thus  expressed  her- 
self in  another  letter:  "I  have  been  more  afflicted 
than  any  one  else  by  this  severe  law;  but  I  have 
resigned  myself  to  it  because,  a  Frenchwoman  before 
all  things,  I  cannot  credit  my  dear  fellow-country- 
men, free  at  last,  with  an  ingratitude  which  forms 
no  part  of  their  character.     I  have  heard  that  strong 


1830  87 

reasons  had  to  be  assigned  in  order  to  keep  us  away 
any  longer.  Our  exile,  it  was  said,  seemed  neces- 
sary to  the  peace  and  welfare  of  the  country;  it 
could  not  last  long;  why  not  submit  to  it  when  the 
glory  of  France  was  always  our  prime  interest?  I 
advise  you  then,  Monsieur,  always  to  depict  regen- 
erated France  as  free  and  happy  in  your  poems,  but 
not  to  add  to  them  a  single  murmur  on  our  account. 
You  will  make  them  sad,  and  your  verses,  if  I  may 
judge  from  those  I  have  received,  are  too  good  not 
to  produce  an  effect  out  of  harmony  with  our  resig- 
nation." 

Nevertheless,  Queen  Hortense,  and  especially  her 
sons,  were  embittered  at  heart. 

In  October,  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  examined 
several  petitions  asking  them  to  intervene  in  order 
to  have  the  remains  of  Napoleon  placed  beneath  the 
VendSme  column.  The  Chamber  proceeded  to  the 
order  of  the  day.  Two  days  later,  Victor  Hugo  wrote 
his  ode  to  the  column.  Here  are  some  of  the  most 
inflammatory  strophes  of  the  Napoleonic  bard:  — 

Oh!  quand  par  un  beau  jour  sur  la  place  Vendome, 
Homme  dont  tout  un  peuple  adorait  le  fantome, 

Tu  vins  grave  et  serein. 
Et  que  tu  de'couvris  ton  ozuvre  magnifique, 
Tranquille,  et  contenant  d'un  geste  pacijique 

Tes  quatre  aigles  (Tairain.  .  .  . 

Oh  I  qui  t'edt  dit  alors,  a  ce  faile  sublime, 

Tandis  que  tu  revais  sur  le  trophe'e  opime 

Un  avenir  si  beau, 


88  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Qu'un  jour  a  cet  affront  il  te  faudrait  descendre, 
Que  trois  cent  avocats  oseraient  a  ta  cendre 
Chicaner  ce  tombeau. 

Ainsi  cent  villes  assiegees, 
Memphis,  Milan,  Cadiz,  Berlin, 
Soixante  batailles  rangees, 
L'univers  d'un  seul  homme  plein ; 
N'avoir  rien  laisse  dans  le  monde, 
Dans  la  iombe  la  plus  profonde, 
Qu'il  n'ait  dompte,  qu'il  n'ait  atteint; 
Avoir,  dans  sa  course  guerriere, 
Ravi  le  Kremlin  au  Czar  Pierre, 
L'Escurial  a  Charles  Quint; 

Ainsi  ce  souvenir  qui  pese 
Sur  nos  ennemis  effares ; 
Ainsi  dans  une  cage  anglaise 
Tant  de  pleurs  amers  devore's ; 
Cette  incomparable  fortune, 
Cette  gloire  aux  rois  importune 
Ce  nom  si  grand,  si  vite  acquis, 
Sceptre  unique,  exil  solitaire, 
Ne  valent  pas  six  pieds  de  terre 
Sous  les  canons  qu'il  a  conquis ! x 

1  When  one  fine  day  upon  the  place  Venddme, 
Man  whose  shadow  was  adored  by  a  whole  people, 

Thou  earnest  serene  and  grave. 
And  when  thou  didst  uncover  thy  magnificent  work, 
Tranquil,  and  restraining  with  a  pacific  gesture 

Thy  four  bronze  eagles.  .  .  . 

Who  would  have  told  thee  at  this  sublime  height, 
While  thou  wert  dreaming  over  this  supreme  trophy 

A  destiny  so  fair, 
That  one  day  thou  must  descend  to  this  affront, 
That  three  hundred  lawyers  would  dare  to  thine  ashes 

To  deny  this  tomb. 


mo  89 

The  echo  of  these  impassioned  dithyrambs  reached 
the  ears  of  Queen  Hortense's  children  and  thrilled 
them  in  their  exile.  Frenzied  by  their  worship  of 
their  uncle's  memory,  excited  by  reading  the  Vic- 
tories and  Conquests,  the  Memorial  of  Saint  Helena, 
and  all  the  tales  of  the  imperial  epic,  eager  for 
action  and  emotion,  they  believed  themselves  born 
for  audacious  adventures,  for  war,  for  glory,  for 
release  from  servile  actions ;  they  were  carried  away 
by  the  ardor  of  youth  and  devoured  by  the  ambition 
to  play  a  part.  Despairing  of  an  immediate  chance 
to  display  themselves  in  France,  they  were  about 
to  attempt  doing  so  in  Italy. 

So  a  hundred  besieged  cities, 

Memphis,  Milan,  Cadiz,  Berlin, 

Sixty  pitched  battles, 

The  universe  filled  with  a  single  man ; 

Not  to  have  left  in  the  world, 

In  the  profoundest  tomb, 

A  thing  unconquered,  unattained  ; 

To  have,  in  his  warlike  career, 

Wrested  the  Kremlin  from  Czar  Peter, 

The  Escurial  from  Charles  Fifth  ; 

So  this  souvenir  which  weighs 

Upon  our  frightened  enemies  ; 

So  in  an  English  cage 

To  have  devoured  so  many  bitter  tears ; 

That  incomparable  fortune, 

That  renown  importunate  to  kings, 

That  unique  sceptre,  that  solitary  exile, 

Are  not  worth  six  feet  of  ground 

Beneath  the  cannons  he  conquered 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  ITALIAN  MOVEMENT 

r  I  ^HE  origin  of  the  Italian  movement,  in  1831, 
was  the  French  revolution  of  1830.  A  wave  of 
liberalism  agitated  men's  minds  on  both  sides  of  the 
Alps,  and  the  nationalities  oppressed  by  the  treaties 
of  1815  sighed  for  deliverance.  The  two  sons  of 
Louis  Bonaparte  regarded  Italy  as  a  marvellous  field 
open  to  their  activity.  They  were  about  to  cast 
themselves  headlong  into  adventures  which  pleased 
their  heated  and  romantic  fancy. 

Concerning  this,  M.  Fernand  Giraudeau  has  re- 
marked: "To  comprehend  so  daring  an  enterprise, 
such  a  spurt  of  unreasoning  enthusiasm,  one  must 
go  back  to  an  epoch  different  from  ours.  Ah!  yes, 
Gambetta  was  quite  right  in  saying:  'Heroic  times 
are  past. '  But  about  1830  they  were  at  their  best. 
Less  reasonable,  less  practical  than  at  present,  the 
young  men  of  that  period  were  enthusiastic  for 
nations  more  or  less  oppressed;  some  for  Greece, 
whither  many  Frenchmen  had  hastened,  and  where 
Paul  Bonaparte,  Lucien's  second  son,  was  to  die; 
others  for  Poland ;  still  others  for  Italy,  where  many 
of  our  compatriots  had  risked  their  lives."     The  two 

90 


THE  ITALIAN  MOVEMENT  91 

sons  of  the  former  King  of  Holland,  moreover,  con- 
sidered themselves  almost  as  much  Italians  as 
Frenchmen.  Was  not  their  family  of  Italian  ori- 
gin, and  had  not  their  uncle  been  simultaneously 
Emperor  of  the  French  and  King  of  Italy? 

What  the  two  princes  desired  was  not  the  suppres- 
sion of  the  pontifical  power,  but  its  transformation 
into  a  modern  and  liberal  regime  similar  to  that 
which  Pius  IX.  essayed  to  inaugurate  some  years 
later.  Their  objective  point  was  a  reformatory  and 
anti-Austrian  papacy,  placing  itself  at  the  head  of 
emancipating  ideas.  Such,  also,  was  the  ideal  of 
Queen  Hortense,  who  wrote,  in  1831 :  "  If  the  Pope 
were  man  enough  to  make  suitable  concessions,  he 
would  be  the  leader  of  all  Italy  to-morrow.  He 
might  again  dictate  laws  in  Europe,  and  restore  to 
religion,  allied  to  liberty,  the  splendor  which  it  had 
of  old." 

It  must  be  remembered,  moreover,  that  the  revo- 
lutionary party  was  not  alone  in  thinking  that 
reforms  in  the  Papal  States  were  necessary.  Louis 
Philippe  and  his  government  were  of  the  same 
opinion.  The  instructions  addressed  by  General 
Se'bastiani,  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  to  Comte  de 
Sainte-Aulaire,  French  ambassador  at  Rome,  March 
6,  1831,  contained  the  following  passage  :  "For 
nearly  twenty  years  the  Legations,  withdrawn  from 
the  pontifical  authority,  were  subject  to  a  government 
founded  on  the  great  bases  of  modern  civilization; 
public   prosperity   and    enlightenment   made    rapid 


92  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

progress.  The  Vienna  Congress  replaced  them 
under  Roman  domination.  An  enlightened  policy 
would  have  taken  into  consideration  the  condition 
in  which  they  had  been  for  such  a  length  of  time, 
and  prudently  accorded  institutions  resembling  as 
closely  as  possible  those  they  had  just  lost.  Far 
from  that,  even  the  privileges  they  had  enjoyed  until 
1797  were  not  restored.  The  fatal  effects  of  such 
an  error  were  not  long  in  making  themselves  felt. 
Restrained,  to  a  certain  degree,  so  long  as  Cardinal 
Consaloi  held  the  reins  of  state  with  a  firm  hand, 
they  broke  out  under  the  feeble  administration  of 
his  successor.  Poverty  and  general  discontent, 
coming  to  the  aid  of  the  secret  societies,  engen- 
dered conspiracies  and  troubles.  An  unskilful  and 
inquisitorial  police,  arbitrary  imprisonments,  mul- 
tiplied and  futile  prosecutions,  such  is  the  spectacle 
presented  by  the  Legations  during  several  years, 
and  it  is  not  inapt  to  remark  that  in  1828  the 
French  Government,  in  the  instructions  given  to  M. 
de  Chateaubriand,  pointed  out,  in  energetic  terms, 
the  dangers  of  so  disastrous  a  system." 

The  least  spark  was  sufficient  to  kindle  a  confla- 
gration on  ground  thus  prepared,  and  a  great  effer- 
vescence already  existed,  in  a  latent  condition,  when 
Queen  Hortense  left  the  chateau  of  Arenenberg  in 
October,  1830,  to  go  with  her  second  son,  Louis 
Napoleon,  to  Rome.  On  the  way  she  stopped  at 
Florence,  where  she  spent  fifteen  days.  She  did  not 
meet  her  husband,  as  he  was  then    in   Rome  with 


THE  ITALIAN  MOVEMENT  93 

Madame  Mere.  But  she  did  meet  her  elder  son, 
Napoleon,  born  October  17,  1804,  and  married  to 
his  first  cousin,  the  Princess  Charlotte  Bonaparte, 
second  daughter  of  Joseph,  the  former  King  of 
Spain.  Prince  Napoleon  had  just  entered  his  28th 
year.  His  mother  has  thus  described  him :  "  He 
was  remarkably  handsome  and  good,  full  of  intelli- 
gence and  ardor,  and  longing  to  employ  his  faculties 
for  the  welfare  of  others.  ...  He  had  adopted 
these  maxims:  That  one  must  be  a  man  before 
being  a  prince;  that  high  rank  simply  imposes  an 
additional  obligation  towards  one's  kind,  and  that 
ill-fortune  nobly  endured  heightens  all  our  noble 
qualities. — The  innumerable  misfortunes  of  his 
family  had  also  been  the  best  of  lessons.  Thus, 
devoid  of  prejudices,  with  no  regrets  for  the  advan- 
tages he  owed  to  his  birth,  making  it  his  sole  honor 
to  be  useful  to  humanity,  he  was  a  natural  repub- 
lican who  disregarded  the  prerogatives  he  had  lost, 
and  believed  that  his  assistance  was  due  to  all  who 
suffered."  This  prince  lived  at  Florence,  near  his 
father,  of  whom  he  was  the  consolation,  and  being 
very  much  attached  to  his  young  wife,  he  spent  a 
peaceful  life,  engaged  in  industrial  pursuits  since 
he  was  not  permitted  to  occupy  himself  with  poli- 
tics. He  and  his  brother  were  never  so  happy  as 
when  together. 

Queen  Hortense  and  Prince  Louis  left  Florence 
for  Rome,  November  15,  1830.  Her  elder  son  es- 
corted her  on  horseback  as  far  as  the  first  station. 


94  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

He  was  radiant  with  happiness  and  health.  But  let 
his  mother  tell  the  story :  "  And  this  heart  so  sim- 
ple, noble,  and  affectionate  was  to  beat  only  so  short 
a  time  for  the  welfare  of  humanity!  I  embraced 
him  again  and  again.  I  found  it  hard  to  leave  him : 
I  feared  everything,  but  I  was  far  from  imagining 
the  worst  of  all ! 

"  On  reaching  Bolsena,  I  learned  that  my  husband 
was  to  spend  the  night  at  Viterbo.  My  son  Louis 
wished  to  set  out  on  a  post-horse  to  meet  his  father 
and  pass  some  hours  with  him.  Our  carriages  met 
about  noon.  He  gave  me  back  my  son,  and  ex- 
pressed his  fears  concerning  the  political  ideas 
manifested  by  his  children,  and  his  desire  that  they 
should  hold  aloof  from  all  events.  In  his  anxious 
affection  he  would  have  wished,  as  I  did,  to  keep 
them  for  himself  alone;  he  would  not  consent  to 
return  me  my  son  Louis  except  on  condition  that 
I  should  send  him  back  a  month  or  two  before  my 
journey  to  Florence." 

Queen  Hortense  had  been  in  Rome  several  days 
with  Louis  Napoleon  when  Pope  Pius  VIII.  died, 
November  30,  1830.  "He  was  loved  and  respected," 
she  has  said ;  "  if  he  had  lived,  things  would  doubt- 
less have  remained  tranquil.  The  interregnum 
seemed  a  favorable  moment  for  young  men  full  of 
ardor  to  shake  off  the  yoke  of  a  government  which 
afforded  no  outlet  to  their  activity,  since  at  Rome 
every  career,  save  an  ecclesiastical  one,  is  inter- 
dicted."    During  this  interregnum  Cardinal  Fesch 


THE  ITALIAN  MOVEMENT  95 

learned  that  the  government  wished  Prince  Louis 
Napoleon  to  leave  Rome.  The  cardinal  having 
inquired  the  reasons  for  such  a  measure,  none  could 
be  given,  except  that  a  young  man  named  Bona- 
parte, who  put  a  tricolored  saddle-cloth  on  his  horse, 
attracted  too  much  attention  and  became  dangerous 
to  the  government  at  a  time  of  disorder.  Fifty- 
policemen  surrounded  the  palace  inhabited  by  the 
young  prince  and  conducted  him  across  the  frontier. 

Thenceforward  Queen  Hortense  foreboded  that 
her  two  sons  would  take  part  in  the  Italian  move- 
ment. She  wrote  from  Rome,  January  8,  to  dis- 
suade them  from  so  doing.  She  explained  in  her 
letter  the  causes  which  rendered  success  impossible. 
"Italy,"  said  she,  "can  do  nothing  without  France; 
it  must  also  wait  patiently  until  France  has  settled 
her  own  affairs.  Any  imprudence  will  be  prejudi- 
cial to  both  causes,  because  a  fruitless  resort  to  arms 
depresses  for  a  long  time  both  the  forces  and  the 
members  of  a  party  to  exalt  the  other  at  its  expense; 
and  those  who  fall  are  despised."  Both  princes 
replied  that  they  approved  their  mother's  conclu- 
sions, and  for  a  time  the  Queen  was  reassured. 

Meanwhile,  Cardinal  Capellari  had  been  elected 
Pope,  February  2,  1831,  and  took  the  name  of  Greg- 
ory XVI.  Three  days  later  the  insurrectionary 
movement  broke  out  at  Bologna.  It  spread  rapidly, 
and  Queen  Hortense,  receiving  no  news  from  her 
sons,  began  to  entertain  serious  fears  that  they  had 
joined    the    insurgents.      She   left   Rome   in    great 


96  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

anxiety,  and  went  with  all  speed  to  Florence. 
"Even  at  the  gate  of  the  city,"  she  has  said,  "I 
still  hoped  to  see  my  children  coming  as  usual  on 
horseback  to  meet  me;  but  in  vain.  I  reached  the 
inn,  my  legs  trembling  so  beneath  me  that  I  could 
scarcely  alight  from  the  carriage.  I  spoke  of  them, 
but  no  one  could  tell  me  anything;  they  were  sup- 
posed to  be  with  their  father.  I  had  not  yet  lost  all 
hope.  M.  de  Bressieux  ran  to  my  husband's  house. 
This  moment  of  uncertainty  was  frightful.  He  re- 
turned at  last  to  give  me  the  most  cruel  blow. 
They  were  gone." 

An  instant  later,  a  domestic,  left  in  Florence  by 
Louis  Napoleon,  brought  a  letter  from  him  to  his 
mother.  "Your  affection  will  comprehend  us,"  said 
the  prince ;  "  we  have  taken  engagements  to  which 
we  could  not  be  faithless,  and  the  name  we  bear 
obliges  us  to  assist  the  unfortunate  people  who 
appeal  to  us.  Make  my  sister-in-law  believe  that  I 
led  away  her  husband,  who  suffers  at  having  hidden 
from  her  any  action  of  his  life." 

Menotti,  that  patriotic  Modenese  who  was  to  be 
executed  after  the  failure  of  the  insurrection,  had 
come  to  Florence  to  say  to  the  two  sons  of  Louis 
Bonaparte:  "Italy  has  need  of  you,"  and  the  princes 
had  responded  to  this  appeal.  Their  father  and 
mother,  and  their  uncle  Je'rSme,  did  all  they  could 
to  induce  them  to  return.  But  it  was  too  late. 
The  more  perilous  the  enterprise  appeared,  the  more 
attractive  they  found  it. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  INSURRECTION  OF   THE  ROMAGNA 

H^HREE  days  after  the  election  of  Gregory  XVI., 
the  movement  described  as  constitutional  broke 
out  among  the  people  of  the  Romagna.  The  colors 
of  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Italy,  red,  white,  and 
green,  were  run  up  at  Bologna,  February  5,  1831, 
and  a  provisional  government  constituted.  It  was 
composed  of  conspicuous  members  of  the  nobility, 
among  whom  were  Comte  Marescalchi  and  Comte 
Pepoli,  who  were  connected  by  marriage  with  the 
Bonapartes.  The  pontifical  troops  evacuated  the  city 
without  resistance.  The  pro-legate,  Monseigneur 
Clavelli,  retired  to  Florence.  At  Forli,  the  same 
day,  the  pro-legate,  Monseigneur  Gazzoli,  published 
a  notification  in  which  he  announced  that,  ceding  to 
the  unanimous  wish  of  the  people,  and  desiring  to 
prevent  grave  disorders,  he  had  determined  to  resign 
the  reins  of  government  to  a  committee  composed 
of  the  gonfalonier  and  sixty  other  persons.  At 
Ravenna,  February  6,  the  pro-legate,  Monseigneur 
Zacchini,  a  young  prelate  of  recognized  merit,  sum- 
moned the  notables  of  the  city  and  himself  created  a 
governmental  provisional  committee.  The  tricolored 
h  97 


98  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Italian  cockade  was  displayed  the  same  day  in  Ri- 
mini. The  pontifical  government  took  no  steps 
toward  arresting  the  progress  of  the  insurrection. 

The  Marquis  de  La  Tour-Maubourg,  ambassador 
of  France  at  Rome,  wrote,  February  12,  to  Louis 
Philippe's  minister  of  foreign  affairs:  "The  insur- 
rectionary spirit  is  spreading  rapidly  in  the  states 
of  the  Pope.  The  province  of  Urbino  and  Pesaro 
has  established  its  provisional  government.  The 
new  authorities  have  made  haste  to  proclaim  respect 
for  religion,  the  clergy,  persons,  and  property;  the 
abolition  of  the  tax  on  grinding  grain,  and  the 
reform  of  legislation."  The  ambassador  adds,  in 
another  despatch,  dated  February  15 :  "I  do  not  see 
to  what  means  the  Holy  See  can  resort  in  order  to 
re-establish  its  dominion  over  the  provinces  it  has 
just  lost.  Force  it  does  not  possess ;  conciliation  it 
cannot  attempt  without  intending  to  comply  with 
the  demands  of  the  people.  No  one  ought  to  expect 
to  see  it  enter  into  that  system,  and  it  must  be 
admitted  that  there  is  a  certain  incompatibility 
between  the  form  of  sacerdotal  government  as  it 
exists  in  Rome,  and  the  institutions  which  the 
insurgents  undoubtedly  demand.  Power,  and  all 
the  means  by  which  it  is  exerted,  are  in  the  hands 
of  the  princes  of  the  Church;  the  superior  council 
is  composed  of  cardinals ;  prelates  are  the  governors 
of  the  capital  and  the  principal  cities;  even  the 
minister  of  war  is  a  prelate.  Such  means  could 
not  be  retained  in  the  establishment  of  a  govern- 


THE  INSURRECTION  OF  THE  ROMAGNA        99 

ment  in  which  a  shadow  of  liberty  should  prevail. 
To  make  some  changes  adapted  to  the  times,  even 
were  they  but  feeble  and  few  in  number,  would  be 
to  endanger  the  safety  of  the  edifice ;  hence  no  one 
even  thinks  of  it.  No  one  imagines  that  the  sover- 
eign pontiff  could  dispense  his  authority  except 
through  hands  consecrated  at  the  altar.  Unable  to 
employ  force,  yet  unwilling  to  concede  anything, 
what  means  are  left  whereby  the  Holy  See  might 
regain  its  provinces?  Not  one,  unless  it  be  the 
support  of  Austria." 

The  two  sons  of  Louis  Bonaparte  have  quitted 
Florence,  unknown  to  their  father,  and  ranged 
themselves  under  the  Italian  flag.  The  constitu- 
tionals —  the  name  assumed  by  the  insurgents  —  are 
proud  of  counting  in  their  ranks  two  nephews  of 
the  Emperor  Napoleon ;  they  give  them  an  enthusi- 
astic reception.  Prince  Louis  writes  to  Queen 
Hortense,  February  12:  "My  dear  Mamma,  we  are 
delighted  to  find  ourselves  in  the  midst  of  people 
who  treat  us  with  the  greatest  affability  and  who  are 
elated  by  patriotism.  .  .  .  Send  us  all  the  money 
you  can ;  this  is  no  time  to  think  of  economies.  I 
hope,  my  dear  mamma,  that  you  will  not  be  troubled 
on  our  account,  and  that  you  will  try  to  pacify  our 
father,  who  must  be  very  angry  with  us."  To  his 
young  brother's  letter,  Prince  Napoleon  added  these 
few  lines:  "My  dear  Mamma,  do  not  distress  your- 
self about  us.  We  are  very  well  and  in  safety. 
I  would  be  very  contented  if  my  separation  from 


100  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Charlotte,  the  first  and,  I  hope,  the  last,  did  not 
make  me  horribly  sad.  It  will  not  last  long,  and 
that  is  a  consolation." 

The  two  princes  were  full  of  illusions.  The 
future  Napoleon  III.,  in  particular,  experienced  a 
sort  of  intoxication.  He  wrote  to  his  mother,  Feb- 
ruary 26 :  "  This  is  the  first  time  I  have  perceived 
myself  to  live.  Until  now  I  only  vegetated.  Our 
position  is  one  of  the  finest  and  most  honorable. 
The  enthusiasm  is  very  great.  .  .  .  Our  sole 
chagrin  is  to  have  disquieted  you."  The  dream 
was  to  have  a  cruel  awakening. 

The  resolution  taken  by  the  two  brothers  had 
thrown  the  whole  Bonaparte  family  into  actual  con- 
sternation. Their  father,  accustomed  to  absolute 
submission  on  their  part,  could  not  imagine  who 
could  have  induced  them  to  disobey  him.  He  sent 
courier  after  courier,  order  upon  order,  to  bid  them 
return.  Their  uncle  Jdrfane,  former  King  of  West- 
phalia, made  still  more  urgent  remonstrances.  From 
Rome  he  sent  them  the  following  letter,  dated  Feb- 
ruary 25 :  "  My  dear  Nephews,  I  learn  with  the  pro- 
foundest  annoyance,  that  misunderstanding  your 
own  position  and  that  of  your  whole  family,  you 
have  allowed  yourselves  to  be  dragged  into  this 
movement.  If  the  Emperor  could  see  his  nephews, 
destined  to  be,  some  day,  the  upholders  of  his 
dynasty,  what  would  he  say  to  find  them  paying 
for  the  asylum  the  Holy  Father  has  accorded  to  all 
his   family  by  taking  up  arms  against  him?  .   .  . 


THE  INSURRECTION  OF  THE  ROMAGNA      101 


Consider,  my  dear  nephews,  the  annoyance,  the 
affliction  of  your  father,  your  mother,  your  worthy 
grandmother,  if  you  persist  in  an  undertaking  into 
which  you  may  have  been  dragged  in  a  moment  of 
enthusiasm,  but  which  both  reason  and  policy  com- 
mand you  to  abandon.  I  implore  you,  listen  to 
an  old  soldier,  to  an  uncle  who  loves  you  as  if  you 
were  his  own  children,  and  who  would  never  coun- 
sel a  proceeding  contrary  to  honor  and  your  character 
as  men." 

This  letter  was  carried  to  the  two  princes  by 
Baron  Stoelting,  an  officer  formerly  attached  to  the 
household  of  King  Je'rSme.  He  found  them  in  com- 
mand of  all  the  young  men  of  the  cities  and  country 
places,  and  organizing  the  defence  from  Foligno  to 
Civita  Castellana,  in  the  hope  of  taking  the  latter 
city,  delivering  all  the  state  prisoners  confined  in 
its  dungeons  within  the  last  week,  and  then  march- 
ing on  Rome. 

M.  de  Stoelting,  notwithstanding  the  mission 
given  him  by  King  Je'rSme,  comprehended  at  once 
that  nothing  in  the  world  could  induce  the  princes 
to  desert  the  cause  they  had  just  embraced  with  so 
much  ardor.  He  wrote  from  Terni  to  Queen  Hor- 
tense:  "I  have  been  forced  to  conclude  that  the 
orders  I  received  were  impracticable,  that  the 
princes  cannot  withdraw,  and  that  the  very  idea  of 
so  doing  is  repugnant  to  them  on  account  of  the 
generous  part  they  feel  called  upon  to  play.  This 
part  is  that  of  mediators,  conciliators,  conservers  of 


102  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

religion  and  good  order."  M.  de  Stoelting  returned 
to  Rome,  bearing  a  letter  to  the  Pope  from  Prince 
Napoleon,  in  which  the  latter  submitted  in  respect- 
ful terms  the  aspirations  of  the  youth  of  the 
Romagna. 

Meanwhile,  European  diplomacy  was  disturbed 
by  the  presence  of  the  princes  in  the  ranks  of  the 
little  constitutional  army.  The  representative  of 
France  at  Rome  wrote  to  his  government,  February 
26 :  "  It  is  announced  that  the  two  sons  of  M.  le  Due 
de  Saint-Leu  (the  title  by  which  the  former  King  of 
Holland  was  designated)  are  at  the  head  of  the 
insurgents  at  Spoleto.  Madame  de  Saint-Leu  left 
Rome  eight  days  ago,  foreseeing  this  determination. 
The  Pope  is  painfully  affected  by  conduct  from 
which  he  hoped  these  young  men  would  have  been 
deterred  by  the  memory  of  the  hospitality  received 
in  his  dominions  during  many  years."  And  on 
February  27 :  "  The  secretary  of  state  has  confirmed 
to  me  the  presence  of  the  sons  of  Louis  Bonaparte 
at  the  outposts  of  the  insurgents  near  Civita  Cas- 
tellana."  He  adds  that  this  treason  has  rekindled 
exasperation  against  the  French,  which  had  some- 
what cooled  down!  At  this  same  period,  Queen 
Hortense  was  made  acquainted  with  the  contents 
of  a  letter  in  which  a  diplomatist  said:  "If  these 
young  men  who  always  consider  themselves  imperial 
princes  are  taken,  the  way  in  which  they  will  be 
treated  will  certainly  teach  them  what  they  really 
are. 


THE  INSURRECTION  OF  THE  ROMAGNA     103 

The  two  princes,  so  confident  and  happy  in  the 
beginning  of  the  enterprise,  were  speedily  subjected 
to  cruel  disappointments.  Menaced  by  the  arrival 
of  an  Austrian  army,  the  only  remaining  hope  of 
the  insurgents  was  France,  which,  in  their  opinion, 
would  oppose  to  Austria  the  principle  of  non-inter- 
vention. Their  leader,  General  Armandi,  fancied 
that  the  presence  of  the  two  Bonapartes  in  the  ranks 
of  the  constitutionals  would  prevent  King  Louis 
Philippe  and  his  government  from  acting  in  favor  of 
the  Italian  cause.  Great  were  the  indignation  and 
surprise  of  the  princes  when  they  received  from  their 
companions  in  arms  the  order  to  retire  to  Ancona. 
Louis  Napoleon  wrote  to  his  mother,  March  1: 
"Really  I  do  not  understand  it  at  all.  You  ought 
to  know  what  we  are,  what  we  desire.  .  .  .  We 
have  just  been  ordered  to  return  to  Ancona.  The 
order  is  said  to  have  come  from  Florence.  So  they 
want  to  make  out  that  we  are  dastards.  If  no  one 
sends  us  any  money,  we  can  get  along  without  it, 
by  living  on  the  rations,  and  instead  of  being  vol- 
unteers we  will  be  under  the  orders  of  the  first 
comer.  .  .  .  We  have  done  what  we  ought  to  do, 
and  we  will  never  turn  back."  And  again,  March 
5:  "The  intrigues  of  Uncle  JeVSme  and  papa  have 
accomplished  so  much  that  we  have  been  obliged  to 
quit  the  army.  Armandi  is  the  cause  of  it.  He 
has  credited  the  assurance  given  him  by  our  rela- 
tives that,  if  we  remain  with  the  army,  we  shall 
interfere  with  the  system  of  non-intervention."     To 


104  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

this  letter  of  his  brother,  Prince  Napoleon  added  a 
word  of  his  own :  "  Have  the  kindness  to  tell  papa 
that  if  he  makes  us  leave  this  country,  we  shall  do 
so  only  to  go  to  Poland." 

Queen  Hortense's  afflictions  were  at  their  height. 
King  JdrSme  and  Cardinal  Fesch  sent  word  from 
Rome  that  if  the  princes  were  taken  by  the  Aus- 
trians  they  were  lost.  Lost!  the  word  made  the 
unhappy  mother  shudder.  As  she  related  in  her 
memoirs,  she  said  to  herself :  "The  Austrian  army  is 
going  to  enter.  These  poor  unarmed  Italians  will  be 
beaten,  and  I  mean  to  go  to  the  battlefield  to  save 
those  of  the  vanquished  who  are  so  dear  to  me ! " 
She  was  almost  in  despair.  Throwing  herself  on 
her  knees,  "O  my  God!"  she  cried,  "give  them 
back  to  me  in  life.  I  ask  nothing  more."  The 
princes  had  despairingly  obeyed  orders,  left  their 
command,  and  repaired  to  Ancona.  From  there 
they  had  gone  to  Bologna,  still  anxious  to  serve  as 
volunteers.  Their  mother  hastened  to  meet  them, 
hoping  to  rescue  them  from  the  advancing  Austrians, 
from  impending  prison,  perhaps  from  death.  She 
left  Florence  March  10,  after  obtaining  a  passport 
representing  her  as  an  English  lady  returning  to 
London  through  France  with  her  two  sons.  On 
that  very  day  the  Austrians  were  to  enter  the  Papal 
territory.  If  Queen  Hortense  wished  to  save  her 
sons  there  was  not  a  moment  to  lose. 

The  unhappy  mother  undertook  her  dangerous 
journey.     "How  shall  I  find  my  children  again?" 


THE  INSUBRECTION  OF  THE  EOMAGNA       105 

she  asked  herself.  "  Wounded,  perhaps !  Ah !  I 
resign  myself  to  having  a  wounded  man;  he  can 
lie  down  in  this  carriage,  I  will  nurse  him  once 
more,  and  be  grateful  to  God!"  But  when  her 
thoughts  went  beyond  this,  she  was  seized  by  a 
deadly  chill,  her  ideas  became  confused,  she  felt 
that  she  was  likely  to  lose  the  use  of  her  faculties 
and  her  courage.  She  arrived  at  Perugia,  where 
people  still  entertained  illusions  and  fancied  that 
France  would  oppose  the  Austrian  intervention. 
The  Queen  went  on  her  way.  At  the  first  gate 
after  leaving  Foligno  she  met  a  carriage.  A  man 
alighted  and  said  to  her:  "Prince  Napoleon  is  sick. 
He  has  the  measles.  He  is  asking  for  you."  At 
those  words:  "He  is  asking  for  you,"  the  poor 
mother  trembled.  "He  is  very  ill,  then,"  she 
exclaimed.  Then  she  said:  "I  have  been  too  un- 
happy! No!  that  is  impossible!  Heaven  is  just. 
It  would  be  too  much!  No!  he  will  not  die!  He 
will  be  given  back  to  me."  The  faces  of  all  who 
surrounded  her  announced  a  calamity.  At  every 
gate  she  heard  the  crowd  saying :  "  Napoleon  dead ! 
Napoleon  dead !  "  And  yet  she  still  doubted  her 
misfortune.  She  entered  Pesaro,  and  was  put  to 
bed  almost  inanimate.  Her  second  son  made  his 
appearance.  He  threw  himself  into  her  arms  and, 
breaking  into  tears,  cried :  "  I  have  lost  my  brother, 
I  have  lost  my  best  friend.  Except  for  you,  I 
would  have  died  of  sorrow  over  his  body,  which  I 
would  not  leave."     Prince  Napoleon,   attacked  by 


106  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

measles,  had  died  at  Forli,  March  17.  All  the 
inhabitants  attended  his  funeral,  and  testified  uni- 
versal regret  at  so  premature  a  death.  The  next 
day  the  city  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Austrians. 
Queen  Hortense  had  but  one  son  left.  To  save  him 
she  was  to  work  miracles. 


CHAPTER  X 

ANCONA 

HHHE  Austrians  were  advancing  rapidly.  Queen 
Hortense  and  Louis  Napoleon  made  haste  to 
precede  them  at  Ancona.  There  they  alighted  at 
the  finest  house  in  the  city,  on  the  shores  of  the 
Adriatic.  The  English  passport  of  the  Queen  pur- 
ported to  be  in  favor  of  an  English  lady  and  her 
two  sons.  Some  one  must  be  found  to  replace  the 
son  that  was  missing.  The  young  Marquis  Zappi 
undertook  the  part.  Recently  married  to  a  daughter 
of  Prince  Poniatowski  he  had  just  been  commis- 
sioned to  carry  despatches  to  Paris  from  the  con- 
stitutional government.  More  compromised  than 
anybody,  he  associated  himself  to  the  fate  of  Queen 
Hortense;  by  the  aid  of  the  passport  he  might  pos- 
sibly escape  with  her  and  her  son. 

Ancona  was  full  of  insurgents  trying  to  embark 
before  the  coming  of  the  Austrians,  but  certain,  in 
any  case,  to  find  difficulty  in  escaping  from  their 
flotilla,  which  was  already  in  the  Adriatic.  Two 
vessels  at  anchor  in  the  harbor  were  the  sole  resource 
of  the  insurgents. 

"Would  one  believe  it?"  says  Queen  Hortense. 

107 


108  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

"The  price  of  places  rose  on  account  of  the  many- 
unfortunates  who  needed  them,  and  the  majority  of 
these  young  men  who  had  abandoned  fortune,  fam- 
ily, all  the  pleasures  of  life,  for  liberty,  could  not 
pay  their  passage.  Many  applied  to  me,  and  I  was 
so  fortunate  as  to  be  of  use.  I  gave  all  that  I  had, 
except  what  I  needed  for  my  journey.  From  my 
window  I  saw  the  boat  which  was  about  to  take 
away  the  remnant  of  those  valiant  young  men, 
imprudent,  doubtless,  since  they  had  not  calculated 
their  means ;  but  prudence  is  so  selfish.  Let  us  not 
reproach  youth  with  the  defects  which  enhance  its 
brilliant  qualities;  it  is  always  in  disinterested 
souls  that  we  find  that  which  ennobles  man." 

The  situation  of  Queen  Hortense  was  made  all 
the  more  terrible  by  the  fact  that  her  son  had  just 
been  attacked  by  measles  and  was  unable  to  travel. 
It  was  necessary  that  she  should  nurse  him  in 
Ancona,  and  that  no  one  should  suspect  her  con- 
tinued presence  there.  The  Queen  may  be  said  to 
have  had  the  same  aptitude  for  mystery  and  con- 
spiracy as  her  sons.  The  cunning  and  address  she 
employed  in  order  to  screen  him  from  observation 
and  shield  him  from  danger  are  inconceivable.  Not 
only  must  she  herself  have  been  intrepid,  but  her 
domestics  must  have  evinced  rare  devotion  and  intel- 
ligence to  render  her  plan  of  escape  practicable. 

Ancona  capitulated  March  26.  The  Austrians 
were  to  enter  the  next  day.  What  stratagem  was 
invented  by  Queen   Hortense?    She   succeeded   in 


ANCONA  109 

convincing  everybody  that  her  son  had  just  em- 
barked for  Corfu  in  the  night  of  March  26-27. 
The  domestics,  who  seemed  to  be  carrying  luggage, 
deceived  those  who  were  curious  about  this  pre- 
tended embarkation.  Even  the  vice-consul  of 
France  at  Ancona  was  duped  by  this  skilfully 
contrived  ruse.  March  27,  he  wrote  to  the  French 
ambassador  near  the  Holy  See:  "A  Jessieu  boat 
sailed  to-night  for  Corfu  with  thirty-nine  of  the 
most  compromised  individuals,  among  others  a  son 
of  Louis  Bonaparte,  the  other  having  died  at  Forli. 
The  mother  is  still  here." 

On  the  27th,  the  Austrian  troops  made  their  entry 
into  Ancona.  The  house  occupied  by  Queen  Hor- 
tense  being  the  finest  in  the  town,  Lieutenant-gen- 
eral Baron  Geppert,  commander-in-chief,  and  his 
staff,  were  quartered  there,  the  Queen  reserving 
only  a  few  rooms  for  herself.  "A  closed  double 
door,"  she  has  said,  "separated  me  from  the  general, 
but  we  were  so  close  that  I  could  overhear  his  con- 
versation, while  on  the  other  side  the  soldiers 
remained  in  my  antechamber  with  my  domestics." 

Here  was  an  essentially  critical  situation,  a  really 
romantic  episode.  The  Queen  herself  describes  her 
anguish:  "My  son's  illness  followed  its  course. 
My  watchfulness  only  became  more  active.  The 
least  thing  might  betray  us.  If  he  coughed,  I  was 
obliged  to  close  his  mouth.  I  prevented  him  from 
talking,  for  a  man's  voice  could  be  heard  so  easily 
by  those  who   surrounded   us."     Only  a  partition 


110  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

separated  the  future  Napoleon  III.  from  his  ene- 
mies. The  Austrian  general  was  far  from  thinking 
that  he  had  beside  him  the  man  who,  in  1859,  was  to 
take  his  revenge  for  1831. 

Meanwhile  the  health  of  Louis  Napoleon  was 
improving.  The  doctor,  who  was  in  the  secret 
and  pretended  to  be  visiting  Queen  Hortense,  who 
affected  illness,  certified  that  the  prince  could  at 
last  depart.  Thereupon  his  mother  received  Gen- 
eral Geppert,  a  courteous  and  well-bred  man,  who 
treated  her  with  deference  and  respect.  She  told 
him  she  intended  to  leave  Ancona  and  embark  at 
Leghorn  for  Malta,  where  her  son  would  rejoin  her 
from  Corfu.  At  the  same  time  she  asked  the  gen- 
eral for  a  permit  in  which  her  name  should  not  be 
mentioned,  and  he  gave  it.  The  Queen  started  on 
Easter  Sunday,  and  as  she  wanted  to  hear  Mass  in 
the  celebrated  church  of  Our  Lady  of  Loretto,  some 
twenty-one  miles  from  Ancona,  she  said  she  would 
set  off  before  sunrise. 

The  young  Marquis  Zappi,  who  had  passed  for 
one  of  her  sons  while  Queen  Hortense  was  using 
her  English  passport,  now  assumed  the  character  of 
a  domestic.  He  put  on  a  suit  of  livery,  and  Louis 
Napoleon  another.  Followed  by  her  two  pretended 
servants,  Queen  Hortense  crossed  the  antechamber 
between  sleeping  Austrians.  Two  post-chaises  were 
at  the  foot  of  the  stairs.  Prince  Napoleon  mounted 
the  box  of  the  one  his  mother  entered,  Marquis 
Zappi   the   dicky  of  that   containing  the  waiting- 


ANCONA  111 

maid.  In  this  manner  they  arrived  at  Loretto, 
where  they  heard  Mass  while  the  horses  were  being 
changed.  They  resumed  their  route  without  diffi- 
culty, thanks  to  the  permit  signed  by  the  general. 
At  Macerata  some  one  recognized  the  prince  but 
maintained  silence.  Foligno  and  Perugia  were 
traversed.  They  arrived  in  Tuscany.  There  the 
danger  was,  perhaps,  greater  than  in  the  Roman 
states,  because  the  prince  was  better  known  there, 
and  at  every  post  station,  on  every  road,  in  every 
inn,  they  might  meet  people  who  would  recognize 
him.  Neither  he  nor  Marquis  Zappi  now  wore 
livery  but  travelled  as  the  sons  of  the  so-called 
English  lady,  who  had  a  passport  for  Italy,  France, 
and  England.  Amidst  incessant  disquietudes  they 
passed  through  Siena,  Pisa,  and  Lucca.  They 
made  a  brief  halt  at  Seravezza,  a  picturesque  spot 
where  Prince  Napoleon  had  enjoyed  spending  the 
summer.  "He  had  been  so  well  received,"  says  his 
mother.  "He  liked  everybody  so  much!  He  had 
built  a  small  house  and  a  paper  mill  there.  There, 
too,  he  wrought  in  marble,  and  made  sketches  of 
all  those  marvellous  places.  In  fine,  it  was  there 
he  had  experienced  all  the  little  happiness  he  could 
have  in  his  too  short  life." 

One  of  the  most  dangerous  places  to  go  through 
was  a  dependency  of  the  Duchy  of  Modena,  for  no- 
where else  had  the  reaction  been  so  cruel  and  san- 
guinary ;  if  Louis  Napoleon  had  been  arrested  there, 
his  situation  would  have  been  most  terrible.     The 


112  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

false  passport  saved  the  fugitives.  "And  yet,"  says 
the  Queen,  "it  was  a  very  bold  thing  to  pretend 
that  all  of  us  were  English,  when  not  a  soul  except 
my  son  spoke  the  language,  and  he  with  an  easily 
detected  French  accent,  as  we  soon  found  out.  An 
open  carriage  stopped  in  front  of  us ;  a  man  stepped 
out  of  it,  approached  my  carriage,  saw  two  ladies 
inside,  and  ran  to  the  other.  Thinking  that  he  was 
addressing  his  own  countrymen,  he  asked  in  Eng- 
lish where  he  could  find  Minister  Taylor,  for  whom 
he  had  despatches.  My  son  replied  in  the  same  lan- 
guage. The  man  thanked  him  by  saying:  'I  beg 
your  pardon,  I  was  mistaken ;  I  took  you  for  English 
people.'  At  last  we  entered  Massa.  We  saw  all 
the  troops  under  arms,  the  duke  being  momentarily 
expected.  He  had  left  Modena  just  when  the  insur- 
gents who  were  in  his  power  were  being  condemned. 
My  son  sorrowfully  remembered  that  Menotti,  an 
Italian,  so  patriotic,  so  energetic,  so  generous 
toward  the  duke,  who  received  his  death  from  him 
whose  saviour  he  had  been."  However,  the  fugi- 
tives passed  safely  through  the  states  of  the  terrible 
duke,  arrived  at  Genoa,  where  the  English  consul 
visaed  their  passport  without  objection,  reached 
Nice,  and  entered,  by  way  of  Antibes,  that  land  of 
France  where,  though  victims  of  a  proscriptive  law, 
they  were  about  to  seek  a  refuge. 

All  was  over,  and  for  many  years,  with  the  Italian 
liberal  movement.  Austria  triumphed,  and  diplo- 
macy had  no  pity  on  the  vanquished.     Comte  de 


ANCONA  113 

Sainte-Aulaire,  ambassador  of  France,  at  Rome, 
wrote  to  his  government,  March  31,  1831:  "The 
Italian  revolution  died  a  shameful  death;  to  wear 
mourning  for  it  would  be  in  bad  taste;  moreover,  it 
would  accredit  those  calumniators  who  accuse  us 
of  having  provoked  it.  We  cannot  blink  the  fact 
that  imprudent  and  culpable  provocations  did  pro- 
ceed from  France,  and  great  efforts  will  be  needed 
to  reject  all  responsibility  for  them.  I  am  in  a 
much  less  favorable  position  for  obtaining  liberal 
concessions  and  soliciting  consideration  in  favor  of 
the  rebels.  However,  I  shall  always  deem  it  my 
duty  to  assist  those  whose  lives  may  be  threatened. 
I  have  instructed  our  brig  at  Civita  Vecchia  in  this 
sense.  To  the  hints  given  in  order  to  find  out 
whether  or  not  we  would  refuse  asylum  to  some 
conscripts  I  have  replied  with  reserve,  but  never- 
theless in  a  way  to  make  it  understood  that  we  will 
not  the  death  of  sinners.  Still  other  hints  have 
been  dropped,  and  these  I  have  repelled  more 
harshly.  They  authorize  me  to  tell  3rou  that  Bona- 
partism  was  at  the  bottom  of  all  this,  and  not 
merely  by  the  concurrence  of  those  members  of  the 
family  who  avowed  it."  The  day  before,  King 
Je'iOme  had  written  to  the  Duchesse  de  Rovigo: 
"The  constitutionals  are  exasperated  against 
France,  which  has  sacrificed  them,  according  to 
what  they  say."  It  is  certain  that  the  Italian 
liberals,  misled  by  certain  speeches  delivered  in  the 
French  chamber  of  deputies,  as  well  as  by  the  tone 


114  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

of  the  Parisian  journals,  had  fancied  that  France 
would  proclaim  the  principles  of  non-intervention, 
and  prevent  the  Austrians  from  penetrating  into  the 
heart  of  the  peninsula.  Louis  Napoleon  Bonaparte 
was  among  the  vanquished,  but  the  events  in  which 
he  had  just  played  so  unfortunate  a  part  were  to 
have  very  great  influence  on  his  future  destinies; 
one  might  say  that  the  victories  of  Magenta  and 
Solferino  lay  in  germ  in  the  defeats  of  the  insurgents 
of  the  Romagna. 


CHAPTER    XI 

THE  JOURNEY  IN  FRANCE 

QUEEN  HORTENSE  had  left  France  a  prescript 
vv>  in  1815.  In  1831  she  returned  there,  a  pro- 
script  still.  A  merciless  fatality  pursued  her  in 
that  country  which  she  loved  so  well  and  where  she 
had  been  so  happy.  Louis  Napoleon  was  but  seven 
years  old  when  he  quitted  his  native  land.  He 
returned  thither  a  young  man  of  twenty-three, 
matured  already  by  misfortune  and  exile,  but  al- 
though surrounded  by  calamities,  and  in  spite  of 
cruel  disillusions,  still  believing  in  his  star  and 
breathing  with  elation  his  native  air.  Yet,  like 
his  mother,  he  could  enter  France  only  under  an 
assumed  name.  He  had  no  right  to  call  himself  a 
Frenchman,  and  owed  his  only  safeguard,  his  Eng- 
lish passport,  to  the  nation  which  had  enchained 
his  uncle,  like  a  second  Prometheus,  on  the  rock  of 
Saint  Helena. 

The  mother  and  son  went  their  way,  unrecog- 
nized, from  Antibes  to  Paris.  They  stopped  for  a 
few  moments  at  Fontainebleau,  melancholy  and 
poetic  abode,  evoking  the  souvenir  of  so  many  van- 
ished grandeurs.     There,  on  the  morrow  of  the  treaty 

116 


116  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 


of  Tilsit,  the  Emperor,  entering  while  alive  into 
the  splendor  of  apotheosis,  had  given  brilliant  fetes. 
In  the  chapel  of  the  palace  he  had  held  Louis  Napo- 
leon over  the  baptismal  font.  Her  face  covered 
with  a  heavy  veil,  Hortense  passed  through  the 
apartments  where  she  had  shone  in  all  the  lustre 
of  her  youth  and  beauty.  She  meditated  before  the 
table  where  the  Emperor,  expiating  his  triumphs  by 
the  most  terrible  anguish,  had  been  constrained  to 
sign  his  abdication,  and  remained  silent  in  the  court 
where  he  bade  adieu  to  his  guard. 

"Some  of  the  domestics  at  the  chateau,"  Queen 
Hortense  has  said,  "were  still  the  same.  Although 
convinced  that  I  must  have  changed  greatly  in  so 
many  years,  I  took  the  precaution  of  keeping  my 
veil  down.  I  heard  my  name  repeated  so  often 
apropos  of  the  different  apartments  I  had  occupied, 
that  it  was  plain  they  had  remained  faithful  to  the 
memory  of  our  times.  I  found  everything  as  I  had 
left  it. 

"  The  only  change  which  affected  me  was  in  the 
English  garden  we  had  planted,  and  which  had 
become  so  large  and  magnificent  that  it  made  me 
sigh  to  think  of  the  length  of  time  which  had  sepa- 
rated me  from  my  country!  " 

Hortense  arrived  at  the  barrier  of  Paris,  April  24, 
1831:  "I  took  a  sort  of  personal  pride,"  she  says 
again,  "  in  showing  this  capital  on  its  best  side  to 
my  son,  who  could  barely  remember  it.  I  told  the 
postilion  to  drive  through  the  boulevard  as  far  as  the 


THE  JOURNEY  IN  FRANCE  117 

rue  de  la  Paix,  and  stop  at  the  first  hotel.  I  went 
over  the  same  route  I  had  taken  sixteen  years  before, 
under  the  escort  of  an  Austrian  officer,  when  quit- 
ting in  the  evening  this  city  from  which  the  Allies 
had  hastily  expelled  me."  The  postilion  stopped 
the  carriage  in  the  rue  de  la  Paix,  in  front  of  a 
hotel  bearing  the  name  of  the  country  over  which 
Hortense  had  reigned,  the  Holland,  where  she  and 
her  son  put  up.  From  one  of  their  windows  they 
could  see  the  boulevard,  and  from  another  the  Place 
and  the  column  VendSme.  Their  arrival  in  Paris 
was  coincident  with  the  royal  decree  of  April  8, 
1831,  by  which  Louis  Philippe  decided  that  the 
statue  of  the  victor  of  Austerlitz  should  be  re-estab- 
lished on  the  summit  of  the  column. 

In  the  France  of  that  day  Napoleon  had  become  a 
demigod.  He  had  not  merely  admirers  but  adorers. 
His  memory  was  extolled,  idolized,  and  even  official 
circles  shared,  or  pretended  to  share,  this  extraordi- 
nary infatuation.  "There  was  an  efflorescence  of 
Napoleonism  on  all  sides,"  says  M.  Thureau- 
Dangin.  "...  Both  grand  and  petty  literature 
sought  its  inspiration  in  him,  and  Victor  Hugo  led 
the  large  and  noisy  choir  of  political  imperialism, 
while  Barbier  was  almost  the  only  one  who  protested 
against  the  idol.  Not  a  theatre  that  did  not  put 
Napoleon  on  its  stage,  at  every  age  and  in  ewery 
posture.  Any  one  going  about  in  Paris  at  that 
epoch  and  looking  at  the  showcases  of  the  venders 
of    engravings    and   statuettes,    turning    over    the 


118  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

pamphlets,  listening  to  popular  ballads  of  street 
harangues,  might  have  supposed  that  the  revolution 
of  1830  had  just  restored  the  imperial  dynasty." 
And,  meanwhile,  the  family  of  the  man  thus  deified 
by  the  masses  was  not  merely  proscribed  but  plun- 
dered. By  the  treaty  of  April  11,  1814,  Napoleon 
had  surrendered  all  that  he  possessed  and  restored 
the  crown  diamonds  to  France,  on  condition  that  a 
pension  should  be  paid  to  him  and  his  family.  This 
petition  was  signed  by  Talleyrand  in  the  name  of 
Louis  XVIII.,  and  guaranteed  by  all  the  powers, 
and  yet,  not  merely  was  it  left  unexecuted,  but  all 
the  fortune  of  the  members  of  the  imperial  family 
was  confiscated.  Nor  was  it  their  fortune  only 
which  was  wrested  from  them,  for  Louis  Napoleon 
had  neither  the  right  to  make  himself  known  nor  to 
bear  his  own  name  in  France.  Such  were  the  bitter 
reflections  of  Hortense  and  her  son  on  entering 
Paris.  Not  a  soul  suspected  their  arrival.  They 
were  believed  to  be  in  Malta. 

The  Queen  did  not  at  once  acquaint  the  govern- 
ment with  her  presence.  Colonel  Comte  Franz 
d'Houdetot,  aide-de-camp  to  King  Louis  Philippe, 
was  first  apprized  of  it.  This  officer  came  to  the 
Holland  hotel  at  the  request  of  Mademoiselle 
Masuyer,  not  expecting  to  find  any  one  else.  Great 
was  his  surprise  when  brought  before  Queen  Hor- 
tense. She  expressed  to  him  her  desire  to  be 
received  by  the  King,  and  he  promised  to  support 
her  request. 


THE  JOURNEY  IN  FRANCE  119 


Colonel  d'Houdetot  returned  the  following  day. 
The   King   had   protested    against    the    traveller's 
imprudence  and  said  that  it  was  absolutely  impossi- 
ble for  him  to  receive  her.     A  constitutional  sover- 
eign,  he  must  even  apprize   the  president   of  the 
council,   M.   Casimir  Perier,  who  would  repair  to 
the  Holland  hotel.     He  did,  in  fact,  go  there,  and 
the  former  Queen  said  to  him:  "I  was  obliged  to  go 
through  France,  and  was  unwilling  that  you  should 
learn  it  from  any  one  but  myself.     If  this  journey 
becomes  known  hereafter,  you  will  not  attribute  to 
me  any  desire  but  that  of  saving  my  son.  ...     I 
know  very  well  that  I  have  transgressed  a  law;  I 
have  weighed  all  the  consequences  of  so  doing;  you 
have   the   right   to   arrest  me;   it  would  be  just." 
"Just,  no;  legal,  yes,"  responded  the  president  of 
the   council.      Colonel  d'Houdetot  came   the   next 
evening  to  seek  Hortense  and  take  her  to  the  King. 
Louis  Philippe  had  not  yet  installed  himself  at 
the  Tuileries.    This  mysterious  interview  took  place 
at  the  Palais  Royal.     The  situation  was  delicate  on 
both    sides.      The    King's   mother  and  aunt   were 
under  obligations  to  Queen  Hortense  who,  during 
the    Hundred    Days,    had    obtained    for    them    an 
^authorization  to  stay  in  France  and  a  pension  from 
the   Emperor.      Louis    Philippe    did   not   disguise 
from   himself  the   fact  that  the   Bonapartists   had 
been,  and  still  were,  of  use  to  him,  and  that  the 
restoration  of  his  throne  would  have  been  impossible 
without  the  evocation  of  imperial  glories  and  the 


120  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

resurrection  of  the  tricolored  flag.  More  than  one 
souvenir  created  a  sympathetic  link  between  him 
and  Queen  Hortense.  General  de  Beauharnais,  her 
father,  had  been  the  friend  of  the  King  of  the 
French  when  the  King  of  the  French  called  himself 
the  Due  de  Chartres.  Louis  Philippe  had  a  liking 
also  for  the  Grand-duchess  Stephanie  of  Baden,  who 
was  a  Beauharnais.  A  great  many  of  the  politi- 
cians, marshals,  and  generals  who  surrounded  the 
new  monarch  had  been  the  courtiers  of  the  attrac- 
tive and  amiable  Queen  Hortense.  Louis  Philippe 
would,  doubtless,  have  desired  nothing  better  than 
to  let  her  live  quietly  in  Paris  in  company  with 
her  son.  But  for  that  it  would  have  been  essential 
that  the  young  prince  should  renounce  his  dreams, 
his  hopes,  his  faith,  and  nothing  was  further  from 
his  thoughts  than  such  an  abdication.  Hence  an 
agreement  was  impossible,  notwithstanding  an  ex- 
change of  courteous  speeches. 

Hortense  arrived  secretly  at  the  Palais  Royal  by 
a  private  staircase.  She  was  not  even  received  in 
the  King's  apartments,  but  in  Colonel  d'Houdetot's 
modest  chamber,  the  furniture  of  which  was  limited 
to  a  bed,  a  table,  and  two  chairs.  Hortense  and 
Queen  Marie  Amelie  had  to  sit  on  the  bed,  Louis 
Philippe  and  his  sister,  Madame  Adelaide,  on  the 
two  chairs.  Colonel  d'Houdetot  stood  against  the 
door  to  prevent  any  indiscreet  entry.  According  to 
Queen  Hortense,  Louis  Philippe  was  polite,  and 
even  gracious.     "The  time  is  not  far  off,"  said  he, 


THE  JOURNEY  IN  FRANCE  121 

"when  there  will  be  no  more  exiles;  I  want  none 
under  my  reign.  ...  I  know  that  you  have 
pecuniary  claims  to  make,  and  that  you  have 
applied  in  vain  to  all  the  preceding  ministries. 
Write  me  a  note  of  what  is  due  you  and  send  it  to 
me  alone.  I  understand  business,  and  offer  to  be 
your  attorney."  Hortense  was  touched  by  so  kindly 
a  reception.  "It  is  impossible,"  she  has  said,  "to 
be  more  gracious  than  he  was  in  all  he  said  to  me, 
and  that  air  of  good  nature  which  I  found  in  him, 
and  which  reminded  me  somewhat  of  the  excellent 
King  of  Bavaria,  that  old  and  constant  friend  of  my 
brother  and  me,  inclined  me  to  confidence."  Hor- 
tense avowed  that  her  son  was  with  her  in  Paris. 
"I  fancied  as  much,"  said  Louis  Philippe;  "but  I 
recommend  you  to  let  no  one  else  suspect  your 
arrival;  I  have  concealed  it  from  all  my  ministers 
except  the  president  of  the  council,  and  I  insist  that 
nobody  shall  hear  of  your  passage."  The  former 
Queen  of  Holland  promised  not  to  make  herself 
known.  Queen  Marie  Ame'lie  and  Madame  Ade- 
laide produced  the  best  impression  on  her.  "  I  was 
failing  so  unhappy,"  she  has  said,  "that  their  con- 
solations did  me  good.  Could  I  ever  have  tried  to 
do  them  harm  ?  "  Hence  they  parted  on  terms  that 
were  not  merely  polite  but  affectionate. 

On  returning  from  the  Palais  Royal,  Queen  Hor- 
tense found  her  son  in  a  high  fever.  Still  passing 
herself  off  at  the  Holland  as  a  Frenchwoman  married 
to  an  Englishman,  she  sent  for  a  physician  she  had 


122  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

never  seen,  and  whom  she  took  great  care  not  to 
acquaint  with  her  real  name.  She  received  several 
visits  from  M.  Casimir  Pe'rier,  who  offered  to  ad- 
vance her  money,  which  she  refused.  One  remark 
of  his  dispelled  all  Hortense's  illusions  by  demon- 
strating the  incompatibility  existing  between  the 
situation  of  her  son  and  that  of  Louis  Philippe. 
"After  what  we  have  just  agreed  upon  for  you," 
said  the  president  of  the  council  to  Queen  Hortense, 
"  people  will  gradually  grow  accustomed  to  see  you 
in  France  and  your  son  also.  As  to  you  personally, 
general  consent  would  at  once  be  given  for  your 
admission;  as  to  your  son,  his  name  would  be  an 
obstacle;  and  if,  later  on,  he  accepted  service,  he 
would  have  to  relinquish  it.  We  are  obliged  to 
keep  on  good  terms  with  foreigners;  we  have  so 
many  parties  in  France  that  war  would  ruin  us." 
In  repeating  these  remarks  of  M.  Casimir  Pe'rier, 
Queen  Hortense  adds :  "  It  would  be  impossible  for 
me  to  express  what  I  felt  at  the  time.  What!  it 
was  necessary  to  conceal  that  beautiful  name  with 
which  France  should  adorn  itself,  to  disguise  it  as 
if  it  were  shameful!  And  why?  Because  it  re- 
called the  glory  of  France  and  the  humiliation  of 
the  foreigner."  Louis  Napoleon,  somewhat  against 
his  mother's  wishes,  had  written  a  very  respectful 
letter  to  the  King,  asking  permission  to  serve  in  the 
French  army ;  but  the  idea  that  he  could  not  do  so 
under  his  own  name,  the  name  he  regarded  as  a 
talisman,  had  not  even  occurred  to  his  mind.     When 


THE  JOURNEY  IN  FRANCE  123 

his  mother  told  him  what  M.  Casimir  Pe*rier  had 
just  said,  "  Give  up  my  name !  "  he  exclaimed,  with 
vehemence.  "Who  dare  propose  such  a  thing  to 
me!  Don't  let  us  think  any  more  about  all  that, 
but  go  back  to  our  retreat.  Ah!  you  were  right, 
mother! " 

Meanwhile  the  anniversary  of  the  Emperor's  death 
was  approaching.  A  Bonapartist  manifestation  was 
in  preparation  for  the  5th  of  May;  ten  years  before, 
the  prisoner  of  Saint  Helena  had  breathed  his  last. 
The  government  seemed  anxious.  Given  the  char- 
acter of  Louis  Napoleon,  so  extremely  inclined  to 
secret  activities,  it  was  credible  that  he  might  have 
entered  into  relations  with  the  republican  leaders. 
M.  Casimir  P^rier's  language  had  literally  exasper- 
ated him  at  a  time  when  every  tendency  of  his  mind 
was  already  disposing  him  to  unite  with  the  double 
opposition,  Bonapartist  and  republican,  which  was 
attacking  the  July  monarchy  with  such  violence. 
After  what  he  had  just  done  in  Italy,  he  was  looked 
upon  as  a  conspirator  and  a  man  of  action.  Hence 
Louis  -Philippe's  apprehensions  are  not  difficult  to 
understand.  From  early  morning  on  the  5th  of 
May,  Louis  Napoleon  beheld  from  his  window 
people  going  to  lay  flowers  on  the  column  and 
crown  the  eagles  with  bouquets.  It  was  claimed 
that  he  had  been  seen  to  mingle  with  the  crowd  of 
manifestants. 

That  very  day,  Colonel  d'Houdetot  presented  him- 
self at  the  Holland  hotel.     "Madame,"  said  he  to 


124  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Queen  Hortense,  "you  must  start  at  once;  you  can- 
not remain  here  any  longer,  I  have  orders  to  tell 
you  so;  unless  it  will  positively  endanger  your 
son's  life,  you  must  go."  Hortense  made  no  re- 
criminations. She  and  her  son  spent  the  next  night 
at  Chantilly,  whence  they  started  for  England. 
They  were  most  cordially  received  in  the  best  cir- 
cles. They  visited  Lady  Holland,  who  had  shown 
so  much  delicate  attention  to  the  captive  of  Saint 
Helena,  and  were  present  at  a  breakfast  given  in 
their  honor  by  the  Duchess  of  Bedford.  On  the  1st 
of  August  they  received  from  Prince  Talleyrand, 
then  ambassador  of  France  at  London,  a  passport 
authorizing  them  to  return  to  Switzerland,  again 
through  France.  They  embarked  for  Calais,  August 
7.  Hortense  would  not  pass  through  Paris,  which 
was  then  in  a  state  of  disturbance.  She  was  afraid 
of  over-exciting  her  son,  who  had  said  to  her :  "  If 
we  go  to  Paris,  and  I  see  people  sabred  before  my 
eyes,  I  shall  make  no  effort  not  to  join  them."  She 
confined  herself  to  visiting  the  environs  of  the 
capital  with  him:  Morfontaine,  formerly  owned  by 
King  Joseph ;  Saint-Denis,  which  the  Emperor  had 
thought  would  contain  the  graves  of  the  Bona- 
partes;  Rueil,  where  the  Empress  Josephine  was 
buried  in  a  humble  church.  "  What  a  painful  feel- 
ing oppressed  me,"  Josephine's  daughter  has  said, 
"  when  the  sad  thought  came  to  me  that  of  all  she 
had  loved,  I  and  my  son  alone  remained,  isolated  and 
obliged  to  flee  even  the  place  where  she  reposed." 


THE  JOURNEY  IN  FRANCE  125 


The  fate  of  the  unhappy  Queen  inspired  Made- 
moiselle Delphine  Gay  (afterwards  Madame  Emile 
de  Girardin)  with  the  following  lines,  set  to  music 
by  M.  de  Beauplan :  — 

Soldats,  gardiens  du  sol  francais, 
Vous  qui  veillez  sur  la  colline, 
De  nos  remparts  livrez  I'acces, 
Laissez  passer  la  pelerine. 

Les  accents  de  sa  douce  voix, 
Que  nos  e'chos  ont  retenue, 
Et  ce  luth  que  chanta  Dunois 
Vous  annoncent  sa  bienvenue. 

Sans  peine  on  la  reconnaitra 

A  sa  pieuse  reverie, 

Aux  larmes  qu'elle  repandra 

Aux  noms  de  France  et  de  Patrie. 

Son  front  couvert  d'un  voile  blanc 
N'a  rien  garde'  de  la  couronne ; 
On  ne  devine  son  haut  rang 
^  Qu'aux  nobles  presents  qu'elle  donne. 

Elle  ne  vient  pas  sur  ses  bords 
Re'clamer  un  riche  partage ; 
Des  souvenirs  sont  ses  tresors 
Et  la  gloire  est  son  heritage. 

Elle  voudrait  de  quelques  fieun 
Parer  la  tombe  maternelle, 
Car  elle  est  jalouse  des  pleurs 
Que  d'auires  y  versent  pour  elle. 


126  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Soldats,  gardiens  du  sol  franpais, 
Vous  qui  veillez  sur  la  colline, 
De  nos  remparts  livrez  I'acces, 
Laissez  passer  la  pelerine.1 

1  Soldiers,  guardians  of  French  soil, 
You  who  watch  upon  the  hill, 
Give  access  to  our  ramparts, 
Let  the  pilgrim  pass. 

The  tones  of  her  sweet  voice, 
Which  our  echoes  have  retained, 
And  that  lute  which  Dunois  played 
Announce  her  welcome  coming. 

We  recognize  her  easily 

By  her  filial  revery, 

By  the  tears  she  sheds 

At  the  names  of  France  and  Fatherland. 

Her  brow,  covered  with  a  white  veil, 
Keeps  no  semblance  of  the  crown ; 
One  guesses  her  high  rank 
Only  from  the  noble  gifts  she  bestows. 

She  comes  not  to  our  borders 
To  reclaim  a  rich  portion ; 
Memories  are  her  treasures 
And  glory  her  inheritance. 

She  would  like  with  flowers 
To  adorn  her  mother's  tomb, 
For  she  is  jealous  of  the  tears 
Shed  for  her  there  by  others. 

Soldiers,  guardians  of  French  soil, 
You  who  watch  upon  the  hill, 
Give  access  to  our  ramparts, 
Let  the  pilgrim  pass. 


THE  JOURNEY  IN  FRANCE  127 


Hortense  paused  in  front  of  the  gate  of  Malmaison, 
which  recalled  memories  both  sweet  and  painful. 
She  was  forbidden  to  cross  its  threshold. 

Mother  and  son  continued  their  journey  across 
France.  At  the  end  of  August  they  were  once 
more  on  the  hospitable  soil  of  Switzerland,  in  that 
asylum  of  Arenenberg  to  which  they  returned  after 
such  chagrin  and  anguish.  Nature,  that  great  con- 
soler, was  to  lull  Hortense 's  sorrow.  The  exile 
heard  the  echo  of  the  voice  of  one  of  her  favorite 
poets,  Lamartine. 

Tes  jours  sombres  et  courts  comme  les  jours  d'automne, 
De'clinent  comme  I'ombre  au  penchant  des  coteaux ; 
L'amitie  te  trahit,  la  pitie  t'abandonne, 
Et  seule  tu  descends  le  sentier  des  tombeaux. 

Mais  la  nature  est  la  qui  finvite  et  qui  t'aime; 
Plonge-toi  dans  son  sein  qu'elle  Vouvre  toujours ; 
Quand  tout  change  pour  toi,  la  nature  est  la  mime, 
Et  le  mime  soleil  se  leve  sur  tes  jours.1 

1  Thy  days,  sombre  and  short,  like  autumn  days, 
Decline  like  shadows  on  the  sloping  hill ; 
Friendship  betrays  thee,  pity  deserts  thee, 
And  thou  goest  alone  down  the  road  to  the  tomb. 

But  nature  is  there,  which  invites  and  loves  thee  ; 
Plunge  thyself  in  her  breast  which  she  opens  always ; 
Nature  is  the  same  when  all  changes  to  thee, 
And  the  same  sun  arises  on  thy  days. 


CHAPTER  XII 

AKBNEXBERG 

fPHE  chateau  of  Arenenberg,  in  Switzerland,  fif- 
teen  kilometres  from  Frauenfeld,  chief  town  of 
the  canton  of  Thurgau,  is  built  on  the  slope  of  a 
hill  that  dominates  Lake  Constance.  Skilfully 
arranged  plantations  extend  their  shade,  yet  now 
and  again  open  to  display  picturesque  points  of 
view.  On  one  side  may  be  discovered  the  little 
town  of  Reichenau  with  its  vines  and  chalets  re- 
flected in  the  waters  of  the  lake.  On  another,  one 
beholds  the  Rhine,  plunging  to  the  foot  of  the  cas- 
cades of  Schaffhausen  to  surround,  with  an  azure 
zone,  a  smiling  landscape.  Further  still  you  may 
perceive  the  vaporous  contours  of  the  Black  Forest, 
and  the  towers  and  steeples  of  the  city  of  Constance. 
The  approaches  to  the  chateau  are  very  rugged. 
On  leaving  Ermatingen,  a  pretty  hamlet  situated 
in  an  undulation  of  the  shore,  a  stair-shaped  path 
detaches  itself  from  the  road  and  leads  to  a  bridge 
thrown  across  a  narrow  ravine.  You  cross  this 
bridge,  whose  balustrades  are  adorned  with  vases 
filled  with  hortensias,  and  arrive  first  in  the  park, 
and  then  at  the  chateau.     Surrounded  by  flowery 

128 


ARENENBERG  129 


borders,  springing  fountains,  and  clumps  of  verdure, 
you  see  its  two  stories,  from  the  ridge  of  which  the 
eye  embraces  immense  and  distant  horizons.  The 
architecture  is  simple  but  graceful,  without  turrets, 
high  walls,  or  battlements ;  an  entirely  modern  resi- 
dence with  nothing  feudal  about  it. 

The  dining-room,  reception-rooms,  billiard-room, 
library,  and  Queen  Hortense's  study  were  on  the 
ground  floor.  In  the  room  leading  to  the  library 
might  be  admired  Prudhon's  large  portrait  of  the 
Empress  Josephine,  a  canvas  full  of  charm  and 
melancholy,  wherein  the  painter  has  represented  the 
sovereign  lying  on  a  grassy  seat  in  the  shadow  of  a 
thicket.  The  succeeding  rooms  were  adorned  by 
portraits  of  Napoleon  and  the  members  of  his  fam- 
ily ;  a  bust  of  Lord  Byron,  one  of  the  Queen's 
favorite  authors ;  and  a  white  marble  statue  of  the 
Empress,  one  of  Bosio's  finest  works. 

Here  it  was  that  Queen  Hortense  received  the 
visits  of  a  small  group  of  courtiers  of  misfortune 
and  exile:  the  Princesse  de  la  Moskowa,  widow 
of  Marshal  Ney,  M.  Vieillard,  M.  and  Madame 
Parquier,  M.  Mocquard,  Madame  Salvage  de 
Faverolles,  who,  having  once  been  an  enthusiastic 
legitimist,  had  attached  herself  with  the  same  ardor 
to  the  chatelaine  of  Arenenberg,  and  Casimir  Dela- 
vigne,  of  whom  M.  Ernest  Legouve"  has  said  in  his 
charming  book,  Soixante  Am  de  Souvenirs,  "  Casimir 
Delavigne  was  then  the  god  of  youth.  The  triumph 
of  the    VSpres  Siciliennes,  the  brilliant  success  of 


130  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

the  ComSdiens,  the  popularity  of  the  MessSniennes, 
placed  on  his  brow,  for  us  rhetoricians,  the  triple 
crown  of  tragic  poet,  comic  poet,  and  lyric  poet. 
We  knew  that  at  the  first  representation  of  the 
Sicilian  Vespers  the  enthusiasm  of  the  pit  was  such 
that  the  applause  continued  during  the  entire  inter- 
val separating  the  fourth  act  from  the  fifth.  That 
had  turned  our  heads.  We  recognized  in  Casimir 
Delavigne  a  yet  superior  title.  He  had  sung  of 
Greece,  liberty,  France,  —  he  was  the  national  poet. 
We  admired  Lamartine  greatly,  but  Lamartine  was 
a  royalist;  Lamartine  had  attacked  Bonaparte. 
The  famous  line, 

Rien  d'humain  ne  battait  sous  son  epaisse  armure,1 

seemed  to  us  a  blasphemy,  for  at  that  time  we  were 
all  frenzied  liberals  and  frenzied  Bonapartists." 

In  August,  1832,  Queen  Hortense  and  her  son 
received,  at  the  same  time,  two  deeply  affecting 
visits,  that  of  M.  de  Chateaubriand  and  that  of 
Madame  Re'camier.  The  young  prince  had  neg- 
lected no  means  of  securing  the  sympathies  of  the 
illustrious  author.  He  had  written  him  on  the  4th 
of  the  preceding  May:  uYou  are  the  sole  redoubt- 
able defender  of  the  old  royalty;  you  would  render 
it  national  if  one  could  believe  that  it  thought  as 
you  do.  Hence,  to  praise  it,  it  is  not  enough  to 
declare  yourself  on  its  side,  but  rather  to  prove  that 
it  is  on  yours."     Admitting,  as  he  has  said  himself, 

1  Nothing  that  was  human  beat  underneath  his  thick  armor. 


ABENENBEBQ  131 


that  the  Bourbons  had  never  written  him  such  let- 
ters, M.  de  Chateaubriand  had  replied :  "One  never 
finds  it  easy  to  respond  to  eulogies;  when  he  who 
gives  them  with  as  much  spirit  as  suitability  is, 
besides,  in  a  social  condition  to  which  unparalleled 
souvenirs  are  linked,  embarrassment  is  redoubled. 
I  would  have  been  glad  to  thank  you  orally  for  your 
obliging  letter.  We  would  have  talked  of  a  great 
fame  and  of  the  love  of  France,  two  things  which 
touch  you  closely."  Hence,  the  ground  was  well  pre- 
pared for  a  reconciliation  between  the  former  Queen 
of  Holland  and  the  author  of  the  brochure  Buona- 
parte et  les  Bourbons,  that  sanguinary  pamphlet 
which  had  been  worth  more  to  Louis  XVIII.  than 
an  army. 

Queen  Hortense  was  endowed  with  an  irresist- 
ible attraction.  She  charmed  the  great  writer. 
Mother  and  son  vied  with  each  other  in  amiability 
towards  him  and  admiration  of  his  fame.  Hence, 
he  has  mentioned  his  visit  in  his  MSmoires  d'Outre- 
Tombe,  in  terms  flattering  to  both  the  chatelaine  and 
the  prince:  "August  29,  1832,  I  dined  at  Arenen- 
berg.  There,  after  having  been  outrageously  calum- 
niated, Queen  Hortense  has  come  to  perch  herself 
upon  a  rock.  .  .  .  The  strangers  were  Madame 
Re'camier,  M.  Vieillard,  and  I.  Madame  the 
Duchesse  de  Saint-Leu  (the  name  then  borne  by 
Queen  Hortense)  extricating  herself  very  well  from 
her  difficult  position  as  Queen  and  as  Demoiselle  de 
Beauharnais.  .  .  .     Prince  Louis  occupies  a  sepa- 


132  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 


rate  pavilion,  where  I  saw  arms,  topographical  and 
strategic  charts,  things  which  made  me,  as  it  were 
by  chance,  think  of  the  blood  of  the  conqueror  with- 
out naming  him ;  Prince  Louis  is  a  studious,  well- 
informed  young  man,  most  honorable,  and  naturally 
grave." 

The  time  when  M.  de  Chateaubriand  made  his 
visit  to  Arenenberg  was  precisely  the  epoch  when 
Louis  Napoleon  began  to  have  those  imperial  aims 
which  presently  became  his  fixed  idea.  As  long  as 
his  cousin,  the  Due  de  Reichstadt,  considered  by 
him  as  his  legitimate  sovereign,  lived,  the  thought 
of  aspiring  to  the  throne  had  not  occurred  to  him. 
On  learning  that  the  former  King  of  Rome  was  ill, 
he  wrote  to  the  young  and  unfortunate  prince,  July 
12,  1832:  "If  you  knew  all  our  attachment  to  you, 
and  how  far  our  devotion  goes,  you  would  under- 
stand our  grief  at  not  having  direct  relations  with 
him  whom  we  have  been  taught  to  cherish  as  a 
relative  and  to  honor  as  the  son  of  the  Emperor 
Napoleon.  Ah!  if  the  presence  of  your  father's 
nephew  could  do  you  any  good,  if  the  care  of  a 
friend  who  bears  the  same  name  could  somewhat 
assuage  your  sufferings,  it  would  be  the  crown  of 
my  desires  to  be  able  to  be  of  use  in  some  way  to 
him  who  is  the  object  of  all  my  affection.  I  hope 
my  letter  may  fall  into  the  hands  of  compassionate 
persons  who  will  pity  my  grief  and  not  prevent 
wishes  for  your  recovery  and  the  expression  of  a 
tender  attachment  from  reaching  you."     This  letter 


ABENENBEBG  133 


had  been  intercepted,  and  the  Due  de  Reichstadt, 
with  whom  Louis  Napoleon  would  never  have 
dreamed  of  contesting  the  throne,  died  at  Schon- 
brunn,  July  22,  1832.  From  that  day,  Louis  Napo- 
leon, who  knew  that  his  father  and  uncles  would 
not  lay  claim  to  the  Empire,  considered  himself  the 
legitimate  heir  of  Napoleon  I.  M.  de  Chateau- 
briand and  Madame  Re*camier  were  struck  by  the 
care  which  Queen  Hortense,  in  spite  of  all  her  pro- 
testations of  having  renounced  human  grandeurs, 
took,  as  did  all  the  members  of  her  household,  to 
treat  her  son  as  a  sovereign;  he  took  precedence 
everywhere.  He  presented  Madame  Re'camier  with 
a  sepia  drawing  he  had  made,  representing  a  view 
of  Lake  Constance,  with  a  shepherd  leaning  against 
a  tree  and  playing  the  flute  while  watching  his 
flock.  But  he  was  already  dreaming  of  something 
quite  different  from  sheepfolds. 

Before  seeking  to  gain  France,  the  prince  applied 
himself  to  conciliating  the  Swiss.  Having  received 
from  the  canton  of  Thurgau  the  right  of  communal 
citizenship  in  1832,  he  had  responded:  "I  am  glad 
that  new  ties  bind  me  to  a  country  which  for  six- 
teen years  has  given  us  so  benevolent  a  hospitality. 
Believe  that  in  all  circumstances  of  my  life,  as  a 
Frenchman  and  a  Bonaparte,  I  shall  be  proud  to  be 
the  citizen  of  a  free  state.  My  mother  charges  me 
to  tell  how  much  she  has  been  affected  by  the  inter- 
est which  you  testify  in  me."  In  1833  he  published 
his  Political  and  Military  Considerations  on  Sivitzer- 


134  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

land,  in  the  preface  to  which  he  said :  "  If,  in  speak- 
ing of  Switzerland,  I  have  not  been  able  to  avoid 
thinking  often  of  France,  I  hope  my  digressions  may 
be  pardoned,  because  the  interest  inspired  in  me  by 
a  free  people  can  but  increase  my  love  for  my 
country. " 

Queen  Hortense  manifested  an  affection  for  her 
son  which  bordered  on  idolatry.  "  What  a  generous 
nature !  "  she  wrote  at  this  epoch.  "  What  a  good 
and  worthy  young  man !  I  would  admire  him  if  I 
were  not  his  mother,  and  I  am  proud  of  being  so. 
I  enjoy  the  nobility  of  his  character  as  much  as 
I  suffer  from  my  inability  to  make  his  life  more 
pleasant.  He  was  born  for  '  noble  things.' "  On  the 
feast  of  Saint  Louis,  August  25,  1833,  which  was 
the  prince's  name-day,  his  mother  gave  an  evening 
party  to  which  several  ladies  of  Constance  were 
invited.  A  lottery  was  drawn  in  which  the  princi- 
pal prize  was  a  water-color  painted  by  the  Queen. 
There  was  a  dance  and  a  gay  supper.  For  awhile 
the  prince  forgot  the  annoyances  of  exile. 

In  1834,  after  a  winter  employed  in  study,  Louis 
Napoleon  went  to  Thun,  to  perform  his  military 
service.  The  next  day,  April  12,  his  mother  re- 
ceived this  note :  "  A  few  days'  absence  is  enough 
to  make  me  desire  to  return  to  you  at  once."  And 
two  days  later:  "It  demands  more  courage  for  me 
to  leave  you  than  to  brave  a  danger." 

At  the  same  epoch  his  name  was  mentioned  as 
a  possible  candidate  for  the  hand  of  Donna  Maria, 


ARENENBEBG  135 


Queen  of  Portugal,  and  some  of  his  friends  sug- 
gested that  with  the  throne  of  Lisbon  as  a  stepping- 
stone  he  might  pass  from  the  Tagus  to  the  Seine. 
"  The  road  is  too  roundabout,"  he  replied ;  "  I  like 
a  straight  line  better."  And  he  caused  the  follow- 
ing rectification  of  the  rumor  to  be  published  in  the 
journals :  "  However  flattering  to  me  might  be  the 
conjecture  of  an  alliance  with  a  young  and  virtuous 
queen,  I  esteem  it  my  duty  to  give  it  a  contradiction 
all  the  more  energetic  because  there  has  been  noth- 
ing on  my  part  to  authorize  such  an  error.  Con- 
vinced that  the  great  name  I  bear  will  not  always 
be  a  cause  of  exile,  I  will  wait  patiently  in.  a 
free  and  hospitable  country  until  the  people  recall 
amongst  them  those  who  have  been  banished  by 
twelve  hundred  thousand  foreigners.  Expectation 
of  the  day  when  I  shall  be  permitted  to  serve  France 
in  the  capacity  of  citizen  and  soldier  keeps  up  my 
heart,  and  is  worth  more,  in  my  opinion,  than  all 
the  thrones  in  the  world." 

Louis  Napoleon  was  not  prince-consort  at  Lisbon, 
but  he  obtained  a  grade  in  the  Swiss  army.  "Dear 
Mother,"  he  wrote  to  Queen  Hortense,  July  13, 1834, 
"  I  have  just  received  from  the  government  of  Berne 
the  brevet  of  honorary  captain  of  artillery.  This 
nattering  manner  of  responding  to  my  request  gives 
me  all  the  more  pleasure  because  it  proves  that  my 
name  finds  no  sympathy  except  where  democracy  is 
regnant.  Yesterday,  I  was  walking  on  the  road  to 
Zurich  when  I  was  passed  by  a  chariot  full  of  Bernese 


136  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

sharpshooters.  As  soon  as  they  saw  me  they  began 
shouting :  '  Long  live  Napoleon ! '  These  friendly 
demonstrations  are  so  many  consolations  for  a  pro- 
script  like  me."  However,  nobody  as  yet  had  any 
faith  in  the  star  of  this  proscript,  and  one  might 
say  he  had  no  adherent  but  himself. 

No  Bonapartist  party  existed  in  1834.  The  prince 
avowed  as  much  in  a  letter  written  from  Arenenberg 
to  M.  Vieillard,  February  18 :  "  Look  at  the  Emperor 
Napoleon,  the  greatest  man  of  modern  times ;  if  the 
people  at  large  preserve  an  affectionate  memory  and 
a  feeling  of  gratitude  towards  him,  yet  he  has  cer- 
tainly been  unable  to  retain  a  party  for  his  family. 
Discouraging  thing!  Bertrand,  to  whom  the  dying 
lips  of  Napoleon  gave  the  name  of  friend,  he,  the 
victim  of  the  island  of  Elba  and  the  island  of  Saint 
Helena,  accuses  the  manes  of  his  Emperor  of  an  un- 
measured ambition.  Soult,  a  soldier  of  the  Empire, 
rises  up  to  stigmatize  what  remains  of  that  glorious 
epoch.  .  .  .  Ah !  you  are  quite  right ;  it  is  neither 
in  gilded  salons  nor  the  reunions  of  timorous  people 
that  we  find  our  friends,  but  in  the  streets."  In  1835 
the  future  Emperor  was  well  aware  of  the  vagueness 
and  indecision  of  his  aspirations.  He  wrote  on  Janu- 
ary 30 :  "  I  know  that  I  am  a  great  deal  by  name, 
nothing  as  yet  in  myself,  an  aristocrat  by  birth,  a 
democrat  by  nature  and  opinion,  taxed  with  personal 
ambitions  the  moment  I  make  a  step  outside  of  my 
ordinary  path,  taxed  with  apathy  and  indifference 
when  I  remain  quietly  in  my  corner ;  in  fine,  inspir- 


ARENENBERG  137 


ing  the  same  fears  in  both  liberals  and  absolutists 
on  account  of  the  influence  of  my  name,  I  have  no 
political  friends  except  among  those  who,  accustomed 
to  the  tricks  of  failure,  thiDk  that  among  the  possible 
chances  of  the  future  I  may  become  a  useful  make- 
shift in  case  of  emergency."  Hence  at  this  epoch 
Louis  Napoleon's  star  was  only  a  nebula,  and  in  spite 
of  his  fatalism  he  must  occasionally  have  doubted 
himself  and  made  personal  application  of  what  he 
wrote,  April  29,  1835,  apropos  of  the  death  of  his 
cousin  the  Due  de  Leuchtenberg,  son  of  Prince 
Eugene  de  Beauharnais,  and  husband  of  the  Queen 
of  Portugal :  "  The  young  men  of  the  Bonaparte 
family  all  die  in  exile  like  shoots  from  a  tree  which 
have  been  taken  to  a  foreign  climate ;  to  die  young 
is  often  a  piece  of  good  luck ;  but  to  die  before  one 
has  lived,  to  die  ingloriously  in  one's  bed  of  sickness, 
is  frightful."  Like  all  men  of  ardent  imaginations, 
the  proscript  of  Arenenberg  alternated  between  mel- 
ancholy and  ecstasy.  Sometimes  he  foreboded  a 
premature  death  in  a  foreign  land,  and  again,  to 
use  his  own  expression,  saw  himself  "  soar  high 
enough  to  be  illuminated  by  one  of  the  declining 
rays  of  the  sun  of  Saint  Helena,"  and  fancied  that 
he  was  to  be  conducted  to  the  palace  of  the  Tuil- 
eries  by  the  shade  of  Napoleon. 

At  the  close  of  1835  and  the  beginning  of  1836, 
the  prince  was  diverted  for  a  little  while  from  his 
ambitious  schemes  by  thoughts  of  matrimony.  There 
was  some  talk  of  marrying  him  to  his  cousin,  the 


138  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Princesse  Mathilde,  daughter  of  Je*r6me  Bonaparte, 
former  King  of  Westphalia.  Born  at  Trieste,  May 
27,  1820,  this  charming  young  girl  was  in  her  six- 
teenth year,  and  her  rare  beauty,  lofty  intelligence, 
amiability,  taste  for  literature  and  the  arts,  already 
made  her  very  attractive.  Louis  Napoleon  saw  her 
at  Lausanne,  where  she  was  staying  with  her  father, 
and  declared  that  he  would  be  happy  to  have  her  for 
his  wife.  Queen  Hortense  greatly  desired  this  union, 
and  King  Louis  did  not  oppose  it.  The  proposal 
was  delayed  by  the  death  of  Madame  Mere.  Louis 
Napoleon  had  seen  her  often  when  staying  in  Rome, 
and  this  woman,  "  worthy  of  all  respect,"  —  the  ex- 
pression is  the  Emperor's,  —  inspired  him  with  pro- 
found affection  and  veneration.  He  had  written  her, 
June  1,  1835  :  "  My  dear  grandmamma,  I  am  unwill- 
ing to  quit  Geneva  without  recalling  myself  to  your 
memory  and  recommending  myself  anew  to  your 
kindness.  The  letter  you  wrote  lately  to  my  mother 
gave  me  great  pleasure.  In  it  you  mentioned  me 
with  such  affection  that  it  brought  tears  to  my  eyes. 
You  can  understand  what  a  sweet  impression  I  must 
needs  receive  from  the  blessing  of  the  Emperor's 
mother,  since  I  venerate  him  as  a  god,  and  worship 
his  memory  most  sacredly.  .  .  .  Adieu,  my  dear 
grandmother;  be  sure  that  no  one  comprehends  better 
than  I  do  all  the  duties  imposed  upon  me  by  the 
great  name  I  have  the  honor  to  bear,  and  that  my 
sole  and  unique  ambition  is  to  show  myself  ever 
worthy  of  it."     Madame  MSre  died  at  Rome,  Febru- 


ARENENBERG  139 


ary  2,  1836,  at  the  age  of  eighty-six.  On  the  14th, 
Louis  Napoleon  wrote:  "It  is  not  merely  as  a 
grandson  that  I  lament  her  death.  It  is  also  in 
thinking  that  she  was  the  Emperor's  mother  that  I 
deplore  this  irreparable  loss.  .  .  .  But  one  idea 
consoles  me,  and  that  is  to  think  that  if  she  sees 
me  from  heaven  and  reads  my  heart,  she  will  find 
there  so  much  attachment  for  my  parents,  such  ven- 
eration for  her  memory  and  that  of  the  Emperor,  in 
a  word,  I  dare  to  say  such  love  for  what  is  good, 
that  she  will  say:  'I  have  a  grandson  worthy  to 
bear  the  great  name  which  his  father  left  to  him 
unsullied.' " 

The  Princesse  Mathilde  was  at  this  time  doubly 
afflicted.  November  29,  1835,  she  had  lost  her 
mother,  Queen  Catherine,  Princess  of  Wurtemberg, 
who  had  displayed  admirable  loyalty  to  a  dethroned 
and  proscribed  husband,  and  of  whom  Napoleon 
said,  on  the  rock  of  Saint  Helena:  "By  her  noble 
conduct  in  1814  and  1815,  this  princess  has  inscribed 
her  name  in  history  with  her  own  hands." 

At  the  commencement  of  1836,  the  projected 
marriage  between  Louis  Napoleon  and  his  cousin 
was  not  abandoned,  but  merely  adjourned.  Directly 
after  the  death  of  Madame  M6re,  Prince  Napoleon, 
the  brother  of  the  Princesse  Mathilde,  came  to  spend 
some  time  at  Arenenberg,  where  his  cousin,  who 
showed  him  much  affection,  gave  him  lessons  in 
mathematics. 

The  mourning  of  the  Bonaparte  family  made  life 


140  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

at  Arenenberg  very  dull.  The  winter  there  is  very- 
cold,  and  on  stormy  days  the  neighboring  moun- 
tains, half-veiled  in  clouds,  wear  an  aspect  of  inde- 
scribable melancholy.  It  annoyed  Louis  Napoleon 
to  find  the  negotiations  concerning  his  marriage 
drag  so  slowly,  and  his  generous  nature,  averse  to 
pecuniary  cares,  could  not  comprehend  the  questions 
of  portion  and  dowry  which  preoccupied  his  father 
and  his  uncle.  At  this  time  he  was  in  a  state  of 
agitation  and  uncertainty  which  displays  itself  in 
the  following  letter  written  to  his  brother's  widow : 
"  My  dear  Charlotte,  I  should  like  greatly  to  see  you 
again.  I  should  like  to  go  shopping  with  you  in 
Regent  street.  I  should  be  glad  to  be  in  Florence ; 
I  should  like  to  press  in  mine  the  hands  of  my  cousin 
or  the  handle  of  a  sabre.  And  of  all  these  longings, 
which  will  be  granted  ?     Probably  none." 

It  is  likely  that  if  a  marriage  with  the  Princesse 
Mathilde  had  then  been  decided  on,  the  Prince  would 
not  have  made  the  expedition  to  Strasburg.  But 
seeing  that  his  dreams  of  domestic  happiness  were 
not  to  be  realized,  he  once  more  threw  himself  with 
vehemence  into  his  rashly  ambitious  schemes.  In 
spite  of  his  extreme  affection  for  his  mother,  he  con- 
cealed the  secret  of  his  enterprise  from  her  with 
amazing  dissimulation.  Queen  Hortense  believed 
her  son  to  be  exclusively  employed  in  completing  a 
manual  of  artillery,  and  was  living  with  him  in  pro- 
found retirement.  "  While  you  are  occupied  with 
great  events,"  she  wrote  at  this  time  to  a  friend  in 


ARENENBERG  141 


Paris,  "  we  spend  our  life  tranquilly  with  no  excite- 
ment but  what  is  caused  by  the  passing  of  the  steam- 
boat, and  discussing  as  to  whether  a  picket  is  more 
or  less  well  placed  to  mark  a  route.  My  God!  is 
this  not  happiness  ?  It  is  at  least  a  very  sweet  repose 
after  so  many  storms." 

The  Prince  kept  up  a  pretence  of  sharing  his 
mother's  philosophy  even  while  preparing  a  plot 
whose  very  audacity  made  it  senseless.  He  was 
acting  under  the  pressure  of  a  sort  of  mysterious 
and  irresistible  fatality  which  was  pushing  him 
toward  the  abyss.  October  24,  1836,  he  tranquilly 
announced  to  his  mother  that  he  would  leave  Are- 
nenberg  very  early  the  next  morning  to  hunt  for 
some  days  in  the  principality  of  Echingen.  In 
bidding  her  adieu  that  evening,  he  thought  he  might 
be  embracing  her  for  the  last  time.  But  he  had 
already  such  self-command  and  power  of  dissimula- 
tion that,  although  a  most  affectionate  son,  not  a 
trace  of  emotion  was  visible  on  his  imperturbable 
countenance. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

STRASBURG 

TN  composing  the  second  act  of  the  Prophet,  Scribe 
and  Meyerbeer  must  have  thought  of  Louis 
Napoleon.  Jean  de  Leyde,  going  to  embrace  his 
sleeping  mother,  reminds  one  of  the  young  Prince 
quitting  Arenenberg  without  acquainting  Hortense 
with  his  projects  or  bidding  her  adieu.  Like  the 
prophet,  Louis  Napoleon  had  listened  to  men  who 
muttered :  "  And  vengeance  !  And  hope  !  "  Like 
the  prophet  he  had  had  a  vision,  and  an  interior 
voice,  a  voice  secret,  mysterious,  had  said  to  him: 
"  Thou  shalt  reign  !  " 

Let  the  Prince  himself  describe  what  he  felt  on 
parting.  "  You  know,"  he  has  written,  "  what  pre- 
text I  gave  on  my  departure  from  Arenenberg ;  but 
what  you  do  not  know  is  what  was  then  passing  in 
my  heart.  Strong  in  the  conviction  which  made  me 
consider  the  Napoleonic  cause  as  the  only  national 
cause  in  France,  as  the  only  civilizing  cause  in 
Europe,  proud  of  the  nobleness  and  purity  of  my 
intentions,  I  had  fully  decided  to  lift  up  the  imperial 
eagle  or  to  fall  a  victim  to  my  political  faith. 

"  I  set  off  in  my  carriage  over  the  same  road  I  had 
142 


STRASBUBG  143 


taken  three  months  before  in  going  to  Unkirck  and 
Baden ;  everything  around  me  was  the  same,  but 
what  a  difference  in  the  impressions  animating  me ! 
Then  I  was  as  gay  and  serene  as  the  daylight ;  now, 
sad  and  pensive,  my  mind  had  assumed  the  color  of 
the  cold  and  foggy  air  by  which  I  was  surrounded: 
I  shall  be  asked  what  forced  me  to  abandon  a  happy 
existence  in  order  to  incur  the  risks  of  a  hazardous 
enterprise.  I  shall  reply  that  a  secret  voice  enticed 
me,  and  that  nothing  in  the  world  could  have  in- 
duced me  to  put  off  to  another  time  an  enterprise 
which  seemed  to  offer  so  many  chances  of  success." 

However,  these  chances  of  success  scarcely  existed 
except  in  the  imagination  of  the  Prince.  He  had 
gained  the  adherence  of  Colonel  Vaudrey,  com- 
mander of  the  4th  regiment  of  artillery  at  Stras- 
burg,  Commander  Pasquine,  chief  of  squadron  of  the 
municipal  guards,  on  furlough,  and  some  young  offi- 
cers to  whom  he  had  promised  honor  and  money. 
As  has  been  said  by  M.  Thureau-Dangin :  "These 
were  the  only  means  by  which  an  unknown  young 
man  of  twenty-eight,  with  no  past,  fancied  that  he 
could  overthrow  a  monarchy  in  full  security  and 
prosperity,  and  possess  himself  of  France,  which 
not  merely  had  not  summoned  him  but  was  not 
thinking  of  him."  We  quote  also  a  passage  from 
the  Memoirs  of  M.  Guizot :  "  Prince  Louis  was  un- 
known in  France  to  both  the  army  and  the  people; 
nobody  had  seen  him ;  he  had  never  done  anything ; 
some  pamphlets  on  the  art  of  war,  certain  Riveries 


144  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Politiques,  a  Projet  de  Constitution,  and  the  eulogies 
of  some  democratic  journals,  were  not  very  strong 
claims  to  public  favor  and  the  government  of  France. 
He  had  his  name,  but  his  name  might  have  remained 
sterile  without  a  hidden  and  entirely  personal  force ; 
he  had  faith  in  himself  and  his  destiny." 

The  dominant  note  in  the  Strasburg  conspiracy  is 
the  fanaticism  of  a  sectary.  No  document  is  more 
striking  from  the  psychological  point  of  view  than 
the  account  sent  to  his  mother  by  the  Prince  himself. 
These  pages  are  written  in  the  style  of  an  illuminate. 
No  remarks  on  the  mental  and  moral  characteristics 
of  the  future  Emperor  could  be  so  interesting  as  this 
autobiography.  It  resembles  both  a  chapter  from  an 
historical  work  and  an  episode  from  a  poem.  Writ- 
ten out  at  sea,  to  the  sound  of  the  waves,  under  the 
equator,  this  strange,  impassioned  narrative  resem- 
bles the  prologue  of  a  drama  in  which  the  most 
bizarre  vicissitudes  occur. 

October  27,  1836,  Louis  Napoleon  arrived  at  Lahr, 
a  small  town  of  Baden,  where  he  expected  news. 
The  axle-tree  of  his  calash  having  been  broken,  he 
had  to  remain  there  all  day.  In  the  morning  of  the 
28th,  he  retraced  his  steps,  and  crossed  through  Frei- 
burg, Neubrisach,  and  Colmar.  He  reached  Stras- 
burg at  eleven  o'clock  in  the  evening,  where  he  put 
up  at  a  small  room  that  had  been  engaged  for  him  in 
the  rue  de  la  Fontaine.  The  next  day,  the  29th,  he 
saw  Colonel  Vaudrey  and  submitted  to  him  his  plan 
of  operations.     The  plot  was  to  be  carried  into  exe- 


8TBASBUBG  145 


cution  the  80th,  and  the  conspirators  assembled  that 
very  evening  in  two  rooms  on  the  ground  floor  of 
a  house  in  the  rue  des  Orphelins. 

"  The  29th,  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the  evening,"  says 
the  Prince,  "  one  of  my  friends  came  to  the  rue  de  la 
Fontaine,  to  conduct  me  to  the  general  rendezvous. 
We  went  together  across  the  whole  city ;  the  streets 
were  lighted  by  a  beautiful  moon ;  I  took  this  fine 
weather  as  a  favorable  augury  for  the  next  day ; 
I  looked  attentively  at  the  places  I  was  passing; 
the  silence  pervading  them  affected  me ;  what  was  to 
replace  this  silence  on  the  morrow?" 

The  adventurous  conspirator  could  say  like  Victor 
Hugo :  —  • 

Oh  !  demain,  c'est  la  grande  chose, 
De  quoi  demain  sera-t-il  fait  ? 
L'hamme  aujourd'hui  seme  la  cause, 
Demain  Dieu  fait  mtirir  I'effet.1 

He  had  the  temperament  of  a  gambler,  and  took 
pleasure  in  the  risks  which  he  was  taking.  His 
imagination  became  excited.  He  believed  himself 
to  be  obeying  an  imperious  call  of  duty.  While  on 
the  way  from  the  rue  de  la  Fontaine  to  the  rue  des 
Orphelins,  he  said  to  his  companion :  "  I  make  this 
revolution  by  means  of  the  army  with  the  express 
intention   of  preventing   the   troubles  which  often 

1  Oh  1  to-morrow  is  the  great  thing, 
Of  what  will  to-morrow  he  made  ? 
To-day  man  sows  the  cause, 
To-morrow  God  ripens  the  effect. 


146  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

accompany  popular  movements.  But  what  confi- 
dence, what  a  profound  conviction  in  the  nobility 
of  a  cause,  are  required  to  brave,  not  the  dangers 
we  are  about  to  incur,  but  the  public  opinion  which 
will  tear  us  to  pieces,  which  will  overwhelm  us  with 
reproaches  if  we  do  not  succeed !  And  yet  I  take 
God  to  witness  that  it  is  not  to  gratify  a  personal 
ambition,  but  because  I  believe  I  have  a  mission  to 
fulfil,  that  I  risk  what  is  dearer  to  me  than  life,  the 
esteem  of  my  fellow-countrymen." 

On  arriving  at  the  house  in  the  rue  des  Orphelins, 
the  Prince  found  the  conspirators :  M.  de  Persigny, 
Commanders  Parquin  and  de  Bruc,  Lieutenants 
Laity  and  de  Que'relles,  and  Comte  de  Gricourt.  He 
thanked  them  for  their  devotion,  and  added  that 
from  this  hour  they  would  share  good  and  evil 
fortune  together.  Some  one  had  brought  the  eagle 
which  once  belonged  to  the  7th  regiment  of  the 
line.  "Labe'doySre's  eagle!"  they  exclaimed,  and 
each  pressed  it  to  his  heart  with  emotion. 

Listen  to  the  Prince's  narrative:  "The  night 
seemed  very  long  to  us.  I  spent  it  in  writing  my 
proclamations  which  I  had  been  unwilling  to  print 
beforehand,  through  dread  of  indiscretion.  It  was 
agreed  that  we  should  remain  in  this  house  until 
Colonel  Vaudrey  notified  me  to  go  to  the  barracks. 
We  counted  the  hours,  minutes,  and  seconds.  Six 
in  the  morning  was  the  time  appointed.  How  diffi- 
cult it  is  to  express  what  one  feels  in  such  circum- 
stances;  in  one  second  one  lives  more  than  in  ten 


STBASBCTRG  147 


years ;  for  to  live  is  to  make  use  of  our  organs, 
our  senses,  our  faculties,  of  all  those  portions  of 
ourselves  which  give  us  the  sentiment  of  our  exist- 
ence; and  in  these  critical  moments  our  faculties, 
our  organs,  our  senses,  excited  to  the  highest  degree, 
are  concentrated  on  a  single  point ;  this  hour  is  to 
decide  our  destiny ;  one  is  strong  when  one  can 
say :  To-morrow  I  shall  be  the  liberator  of  my  coun- 
try or  I  shall  be  dead."  To  conquer  or  to  die,  such 
had  been  his  motto,  and  yet  destiny  was  to  grant 
him  neither  victory  nor  death.  Filled  with  strange 
illusions,  he  imagined  that  his  enterprise  would  be 
a  new  edition  of  the  return  from  Elba,  and  that  he 
had  only  to  appear  to  be  enabled  to  exclaim  like 
Csesar:  Veni,  vidi,  vici.  After  such  a  dream,  the 
awakening  must  have  been  terrible. 

The  quarter  of  the  4th  regiment  of  artillery  com- 
manded by  Colonel  Vaudrey  was  called  the  Auster- 
litz  quarter.  The  name  seemed  a  good  omen  to  the 
Prince.  "At  last,"  he  says,  "six  o'clock  sounded! 
Never  did  the  strokes  of  a  clock  re-echo  so  vio- 
lently in  my  heart;  but  in  an  instant  the  trumpet 
of  the  Austerlitz  quarter  came  to  renew  its  palpi- 
tations.    The  great  moment  was  approaching." 

Some  one  came  to  tell  the  Prince  that  Colonel 
Vaudrey  awaited  him.  He  rushed  into  the  street, 
accompanied  by  M.  Parquin,  in  the  uniform  of  a 
brigadier  general,  and  a  chief  of  battalion  carrying 
the  eagle.  He  himself  wore  an  artillery  uniform  and 
a  staff-officer's  chapeau. 


148  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

The  regiment  was  in  line  in  the  court  of  the  quar- 
ter. Colonel  Vaudrey  drew  his  sword  and  cried: 
"  Soldiers  of  the  4th  regiment  of  artillery !  a  great 
revolution  is  accomplishing  at  this  moment ;  you 
see  before  you  the  nephew  of  the  Emperor  Napo- 
leon. He  comes  to  reconquer  the  rights  of  the  peo- 
ple ;  the  people  and  the  army  can  rely  upon  him. 
It  is  around  him  that  all  who  love  the  glory  and 
liberty  of  France  should  gather.  Soldiers,  you  will 
feel,  like  your  leader,  all  the  grandeur  of  the  enter- 
prise you  are  about  to  attempt,  all  the  sacredness  of 
the  cause  you  are  about  to  defend.  Soldiers,  can 
the  nephew  of  the  Emperor  count  on  you  ? "  He 
was  answered  by  shouts  of  "  Long  live  Napoleon ! 
Long  live  the  Emperor ! "  Then  the  Prince  began 
to  speak:  "Determined  to  conquer  or  die  for  the 
cause  of  the  French  people,  you  are  the  first  to 
whom  I  wished  to  present  myself,  because  there 
exist  great  memories  between  you  and  me.  It  was 
in  your  regiment  that  the  Emperor  Napoleon,  my 
uncle,  served  as  captain;  it  was  with  you  that  he 
distinguished  himself  at  the  siege  of  Toulon,  and  it 
was  again  your  regiment  which  opened  the  gates  of 
Grenoble  to  him  on  the  return  from  Elba.  Soldiers ! 
new  destinies  are  reserved  for  you.  Yours  is  the 
glory  of  commencing  a  new  enterprise;  yours  the 
honor  of  being  the  first  to  salute  the  eagle  of  Aus- 
terlitz  and  Wagram."  Then  Louis  Napoleon  seized 
the  eagle  carried  by  M.  de  Quenelles,  and,  present- 
ing it  to  the  soldiers,  he  exclaimed :    "  Here  is  the 


STRASBURG  149 


symbol  of  French  glory,  destined  likewise  to  become 
the  emblem  of  liberty !  During  fifteen  years  it  led 
our  fathers  to  victory ;  it  has  shone  above  all  battle- 
fields ;  it  has  traversed  every  capital  of  Europe. 
Soldiers  !  will  you  not  rally  to  this  noble  standard 
which  I  confide  to  your  honor  and  courage?  Will 
you  not  march  with  me  against  the  traitors  and 
oppressors  of  the  fatherland,  to  the  cry  of  Long 
live  France  !  Long  live  liberty !  "  The  artillerymen 
shouted  for  the  Prince.  They  began  to  march,  with 
the  band  at  the  front.  One  platoon  went  to  the 
printer's  to  have  the  proclamations  published,  an- 
other to  the  house  of  the  prefect  to  arrest  him ;  six 
more  were  given  different  commissions.  The  Prince, 
taking  only  a  part  of  his  forces,  went  to  the  house  of 
General  Voirol,  commander  of  the  military  division. 
"  General,"  said  he,  "  I  come  to  you  as  a  friend ;  it 
would  afflict  me  to  raise  our  old  tricolored  flag  with- 
out a  brave  soldier  like  you.  The  garrison  is  for 
me ;  make  up  your  mind  and  follow  me."  The  gen- 
eral replied :  "  Prince,  some  one  has  deceived  you, 
and  I  am  going  to  prove  it  to  you  this  minute." 
Thereupon  Louis  Napoleon  went  away,  leaving  a 
picket  to  guard  the  general.  Then  he  marched 
through  a  small  lane  into  the  Truckman  barrack, 
then  occupied  by  the  46th  infantry  regiment  of  the 
line.  There  a  complete  check  awaited  him.  Lieu- 
tenant-colonel Talandier  rejected  all  his  offers.  Colo- 
nel Paillot  and  other  officers  arrived  and  persuaded 
the  soldiers  against  the  Prince.     He  was  set  upon, 


150  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

his  clothing  torn,  his  insignia  taken  from  him,  and 
himself  shut  up  in  a  guard-house.  "Prince,"  said 
one  of  his  accomplices,  Commander  Parquin,  at  this 
moment,  "  we  shall  be  shot,  but  we  will  die  well." 
"  Yes,"  replied  Louis  Napoleon ;  "  we  have  failed  in 
a  fine  and  noble  enterprise."  He  was  afterwards 
taken  to  the  new  prison.  "  Here  I  was,  then,"  he 
says,  "between  four  walls,  with  barred  windows,  in 
the  abode  of  criminals.  Ah !  those  who  know  what 
it  is  to  pass  suddenly  from  that  excessive  happiness 
induced  by  noble  illusions  to  that  excessive  misery 
which  leaves  no  more  hope,  and  to  cross  this  enor- 
mous interval  without  a  moment's  preparation,  will 
comprehend  what  was  passing  in  my  heart." 

The  conspirators  met  again  in  the  office  of  the 
clerk  of  court.  True  fanatics,  they  did  not  repent 
of  their  mad  enterprise.  "  Prince,"  said  M.  de 
Querelles,  "notwithstanding  our  defeat,  I  am  still 
proud  of  what  I  have  done."  Louis  Napoleon  sub- 
mitted to  a  preliminary  examination  with  imperturb- 
able calmness. 

"  What  induced  you  to  act  as  you  have  done  ?  " 
"  My  political  opinions  and  my  desire  to  see  my 
country  once  more,  which  the  foreign  invasion  pre- 
vents me  from  doing.  In  1830  I  asked  to  be  treated 
as  a  private  citizen ;  I  was  treated  as  a  pretender ; 
very  well,  I  have  acted  like  a  pretender." 

"  Did  you  wish  to  establish  a  military  government  ?  " 
"I  wished  to  establish  a  government  founded  upon 
popular  election." 


STRASBUBG  151 


"What  would  you  have  done  had  you  succeeded?" 

"I  would  have  assembled  a  national  congress." 
Louis  Napoleon  added  that  having  organized  his 
plot  alone  and  been  the  sole  persuader  of  his  accom- 
plices, he  must  also  assume  the  whole  responsibility. 

After  the  examination  the  Prince  was  taken  back 
to  prison.  "I  threw  myself,"  he  says,  "on  a  bed 
that  had  been  made  ready  for  me,  and  in  spite  of 
my  torments,  sleep,  which  alleviates  by  giving  a  res- 
pite to  the  afflictions  of  the  soul,  came  to  quiet  my 
senses ;  repose  does  not  fly  misfortune ;  it  is  only 
banished  by  remorse.  But  how  frightful  was  the 
awakening!  I  thought  I  had  had  a  horrible  night- 
mare ;  what  grieved  and  disquieted  me  most  was  the 
fate  of  those  who  were  compromised." 

The  Prince  was  notified  during  the  evening  of 
November  10  that  he  was  to  be  transferred  to  another 
prison ;  he  came  out  of  his  room  and  met  General 
Voirol  and  the  prefect,  who  took  him  in  their  car- 
riage, but  did  not  tell  him  where  he  was  to  go.  On 
arriving  at  the  prefecture,  he  saw  two  post-chaises 
standing  in  readiness,  one  of  which  he  entered  in 
company  with  two  officers  of  gendarmerie ;  four  non- 
commissioned officers  got  into  the  other.  The  two 
carriages  reached  Paris  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning 
of  the  12th.  There  the  Prince  spent  two  hours  at  the 
prefecture  of  police,  in  a  hall  of  which  we  shall  speak 
hereafter.  At  four  in  the  morning  he  once  more  set 
off  under  good  escort,  and,  in  the  night  of  November 
13-14,  arrived  at   the   citadel  of   Port   Louis,  near 


152  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Lorient,  where  he  remained  several  days  before  em- 
barking for  the  United  States. 

Queen  Hortense  had  hastened  to  France  under  an 
assumed  name  to  ask  pardon  for  her  son.  Her  efforts 
were  fruitless,  for  the  Government  had  already  deter- 
mined to  send  him  to  the  United  States,  where  he 
would  be  free. 

It  seems  that  Louis  Napoleon's  plot  had  included 
not  merely  open  and  avowed  conspirators,  but  others 
whose  adhesion  was  less  complete.  Certain  men,  it 
is  said,  while  contriving  not  to  be  compromised  in 
case  of  failure,  were  ready  to  assert  themselves  in 
case  of  success.  If  the  Prince  had  induced  the  gar- 
rison of  Strasburg  to  march  with  him  on  Paris,  he 
would  probably  have  been  joined  on  the  route  by 
many  officers  and  soldiers.  But  for  that  it  would 
have  been  necessary  to  succeed  at  the  outset,  and 
whatever  may  have  been  said  about  it  afterwards, 
such  a  thing  was  almost  impossible.  To  perform  a 
prodigy  like  the  return  from  Elba,  one  must  have 
won  innumerable  victories,  and  the  Emperor's  nephew 
had  not  gained  one.  He  was  under  the  same  sort  of 
illusions  as  the  Duchesse  de  Berry.  His  enterprise, 
like  that  of  the  mother  of  the  Due  de  Bordeaux,  was 
pre-eminently  an  affair  of  the  imagination. 

"  The  Government,"  M.  Guizot  has  said,  "  consid- 
ered that  the  nephew  of  Napoleon,  like  the  daughter- 
in-law  of  Charles  X.,  ought  not  to  be  handed  over 
to  the  courts;  in  such  a  trial  everything  was  to  be 
dreaded :  the  humiliation  of  a  prince,  as  well  as  the 


STRASBURG  153 


bringing  a  pretender  on  the  scene ;  the  severity 
of  a  condemnation,  or  the  scandal  of  an  acquittal. 
Hence  no  judicial  proceedings.  The  memory  of 
Blaye  was  too  recent  for  the  embarrassment  of  a  de- 
tention not  to  be  felt."  By  a  strange  anomaly,  the 
accomplices  of  the  Prince  were  prosecuted,  while  he, 
the  principal  author  of  the  conspiracy,  was  not.  He 
was  himself  amazed  at  the  King's  clemency;  but 
while  acknowledging  the  generosity  of  the  Govern- 
ment in  his  regard,  he  expressed  in  a  letter  to  M. 
Odilon  Barrot,  of  November  14,  his  regret  at  being 
unable  to  share  the  fate  of  the  other  conspirators. 
In  the  same  letter  he  made  the  following  avowal: 
"We  were  far  from  expecting  a  pardon  in  case  of 
failure." 

To  sum  up,  the  ill-concerted  enterprise  of  Stras- 
burg  had  produced  no  sensation,  in  France  or  else- 
where, but  that  of  profound  surprise.  Comte  de 
Sainte-Aulaire  also  affirms  as  much  in  his  unpub- 
lished Memoirs :  "  The  pretensions  of  Prince  Louis 
were  a  subject  of  derision ;  I  never  met  any  one  who 
took  the  trouble  to  discuss  them."  The  failure  had 
been  absolute ;  it  was  considered  irreparable.  No- 
body ventured  to  think  that  the  hour  of  retaliation 
might  yet  strike  for  the  vanquished  man  of  Stras- 
burg. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  CHILDHOOD   OF   THE  EMPRESS 

TTTE  have  said  that  on  November  12,  1836,  Louis 
*  *  Napoleon  arrived  in  Paris,  where  he  spent  two 
hours  at  the  prefecture  of  police,  in  a  hall  of  which 
we  would  speak  later  on.  This  room,  in  which  he 
was  received  with  perfect  courtesy  by  the  prefect, 
M.  Gabriel  Delessert,  was  the  large  dining-room  of 
the  prefecture.  In  this  very  hall  the  children  of 
the  prefect,  Ce'cile  and  Edouard,  came  nearly  every 
morning,  under  the  direction  of  a  subaltern  officer 
of  the  firemen's  battalion,  named  M.  Delestree,  to 
take  lessons  in  gymnastics  with  two  very  young 
Spanish  girls,  the  elder  of  whom  was  one  day  to  be 
the  Duchesse  d'Albe,  and  the  younger  the  Empress 
of  the  French.  A  collation  was  offered  to  the  Prince, 
but  he  took  nothing  except  some  biscuits  and  a  glass 
of  champagne.  At  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  he 
set  out  again,  never  suspecting  that  on  his  road  to 
outlawry  he  had  halted  for  some  moments  in  a  room 
entered  nearly  every  day  by  the  child  destined  to  sit 
with  him  upon  the  throne  of  France. 

Sixteen  years  later,  when  Napoleon  III.,  at  the 
Tuileries,  announced  his  marriage  to  the  great  bodies 

154 


THE  CHILDHOOD   OF  THE  EMPRESS  155 

of  the  State,  he  said  that  his  betrothed  was  "a 
woman  of  high  birth,  a  Frenchwoman  by  inclination 
and  education."  As  has  been  observed  by  M.  Fernand 
Giraudeau,  many  persons  believed,  at  the  time,  that 
in  thus  speaking,  Napoleon  III.  exaggerated  a  trifle, 
in  order  to  render  their  new  sovereign  more  accept- 
able to  the  French  people.  Nothing,  however,  could 
be  more  inexact.  We  have  already  pointed  out  the 
valor  displayed  by  the  Empress  Eugenie's  father 
when  a  colonel  in  Napoleon's  army.  No  Frenchman 
had  shown  greater  devotion  to  France  than  this  great 
Spanish  sefior.  He  brought  up  his  daughters  in  a 
sentiment  of  respect  and  admiration  for  the  Emperor's 
memory.  At  Madrid,  his  house  on  the  calle  del 
Sordo  was  filled  from  top  to  bottom  with  Napoleonic 
souvenirs.  Moreover,  the  future  sovereign  learned 
the  imperial  legend  from  two  great  story-tellers, — 
Prosper  Me'rime'e,  author  of  the  Chronique  du  regne 
de  Charles  IX.,  and  Stendahl  (Henri  Beyle),  author 
of  La  Chartreuse  de  Parme.  From  earliest  infancy, 
her  romantic  imagination  was  impressed  by  the  bril- 
liant conversation  of  these  men,  who  narrated  so  well 
the  glories  of  the  imperial  epic. 

M.  Me'rime'e  saw  the  father  of  the  Empress  for  the 
first  time  in  1830.  As  the  latter  did  not  assume 
the  title  of  Comte  de  Montijo  until  after  the  death 
of  his  brother,  in  1834,  he  was  then  known  as  Don 
Cipriano  Guzman  Palafox  y  Porto  Carrero,  Comte  de 
Teba.  Menme"e  was  travelling  in  Spain  when  they 
made   acquaintance   in   a  stage-coach.     They   were 


156  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 


friends  at  once,  and  the  brilliant  French  writer  being 
soon  afterwards  presented  to  the  Comtesse  de  Teba, 
in  Madrid,  became  one  of  the  most  constant  visitors 
in  the  calle  del  Sordo.  In  the  remarkable  book  he 
has  devoted  to  Prosper  Mdrime'e,  M.  Auguste  Filon 
has  recalled  this  fact,  and  justly  eulogized  Colonel 
Porto  Carrero,  the  name  borne  by  the  Empress's 
father  when  a  colonel  of  artillery  in  the  French 
army.  "At  the  defence  of  Paris,  in  1814,"  says 
M.  Filon,  "he  commanded  the  students  of  our  Poly- 
technic School;  and  the  last  discharges  of  cannon 
which  from  the  heights  of  Montmartre  delayed  our 
shame  for  one  more  day,  were  fired  by  Colonel  Porto 
Carrero.  It  is  amidst  this  smoke  that  one  likes  to 
catch  a  glimpse  of  that  fine,  pale  countenance, 
ennobled  rather  than  disfigured  by  the  terrible  wound 
which  had  deprived  him  of  one  of  nis  eyes ;  of  that 
soldier  philosopher,  brain-haunted  by  vague  dreams 
of  deliverance  and  progress,  disgraced  for  having 
loved  liberty  and  France  too  well,  and  to  the  end 
bearing  his  disgrace  proudly."  The  Empress  Eu- 
genie placed  a  miniature  of  her  father  in  her  apart- 
ments at  the  Tuileries.  It  represented  him  with  a 
silk  bandage  crossing  his  face  on  the  side  where  he 
had  lost  an  eye  in  consequence  of  a  wound  he  had 
received  in  the  service  of  France.  The  likeness  to 
his  daughter  was  not  less  striking;  there  were  the 
same  noble  features,  dazzling  color,  and  golden  hair. 
Me'rime'e  entertained  a  sincere  affection  for  the 
De   Teba  family.      "There   was   both    Scotch    and 


THE  CHILDHOOD   OF  THE  EMPRESS  157 


Flemish  blood  in  the  veins  of  the  Comtesse  de  Teba," 
says  M.  Filon.  "She  amazed  and  enchanted  Meri- 
me"e  by  her  grace,  her  mental  activity,  the  variety 
of  her  conversation,  and  the  extent  of  her  knowledge. 
She  knew  the  history  of  Spain,  its  former  kings,  its 
languages,  and  its  monuments,  by  heart.  'Do  you 
remember,'  he  wrote  afterwards,  '  the  beautiful  stories 
about  the  Alhambra  and  the  Generalifat,  which  you 
told  me  in  1830,  in  the  calle  del  Sordo?'  To 
complete  the  attractiveness  of  this  dwelling,  one 
should  fancy  two  little  girls  of  four  and  five  years 
old,  Eugenia  and  Paca,  playing  at  their  mother's  side. 
Eugenia,  the  god-daughter  of  her  uncle,  the  Comte 
de  Montijo,  born  in  a  garden  at  Grenada,  during  an 
earthquake,  impressed  one  by  her  pensive,  wonder- 
ing, melancholy  glance,  a  glance  which  Paris  beheld, 
later  on,  in  the  eyes  of  her  son.  One  might  have 
thought  her  not  yet  recovered  from  her  strange 
entry  into  life ;  or  else  that  her  vague,  infantine 
reveries  were  interrupted  by  dramatic  surprises.  But 
who  could  have  thought  of  all  this  when  the  young 
visitor  in  the  calle  del  Sordo  was  stroking  the 
golden  hair  of  little  Eugenia  while  her  mother 
repeated  legends  of  the  Moorish  kings,  the  exploits 
of  the  Campeador  or  of  Boelo,  and  the  souvenirs  of 
Pe*lagie  and  Don  Pedro  ?  " 

Comte  de  Teba,  who  was  not  rich  until  after  the 
death  of  his  brother,  the  Comte  de  Montijo,  gave  his 
daughters  a  simple,  modest,  and  austere  education. 
When,  in   1814,  he  inherited  the  title  and  fortune 


158  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

of  his  brother,  the  new  Comte  de  Montijo  did  not 
alter  his  accustomed  ways.  He  still  wished  his 
daughters  brought  up  as  if  they  were  to  be  poor, 
and  to  inure  them  to  privations  and  fatigue. 

Serious  troubles  broke  out  in  Spain  that  year. 
July  29,  General  de  Castellane,  who  was  then  in 
command  at  Perpignan,  witnessed  the  arrival  in  that 
city  of  the  Comtesse  de  Montijo  with  her  two  daugh- 
ters and  her  son  Paca,  who  was  to  die  in  infancy. 
Many  Spanish  families,  fleeing  from  civil  war  and 
cholera,  sought  refuge  in  France.  The  Comte  de 
Montijo,  a  senator  since  his  brother's  death,  re- 
mained in  Madrid  while  sending  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren across  the  Pyrenees.  General  de  Castellane 
found  the  countess  intelligent  and  beautiful. 

Madame  de  Montijo  went  afterwards  to  Paris, 
where  she  contracted  an  intimacy  with  the  De  La- 
borde  family.  An  accomplished  man  of  the  world  and 
a  distinguished  savant,  a  member  of  the  Academy  of 
Inscriptions  and  Belles-Lettres,  and  of  the  Academy 
of  Moral  and  Political  Sciences,  Comte  Alexandre  de 
Laborde  and  his  wife  had  three  charming  daughters, 
one  of  whom  was  married  to  M.  Gabriel  Delessert, 
prefect  of  police,  another  to  M.  Edouard  Bocher,  and 
the  third  to  M.  Odier.  Among  their  frequent  guests 
were  Me'rime'e  and  Henri  Beyle  (Stendahl).  The 
former  was  well  pleased  to  renew  his  friendship  with 
the  beautiful  Comtesse  de  Montijo  in  Paris.  It  was 
she  who  told  him  the  anecdote  which  he  made  the 
subject  of  Carmen,  and  she  also  who  later  on  sug- 


THE  CHILDHOOD  OF  THE  EMPRESS  159 

gested  Don  Pedro.  He  was  very  fond  of  her  daugh- 
ters, used  to  take  them  out  walking,  corrected  their 
French  exercises,  and  gave  them  lessons  in  writing 
and  style. 

M.  Henri  Beyle  likewise  frequented  the  salon  of 
the  Comtesse  de  Montijo,  and  told  little  Paca  and 
Eugenia  tales  about  Napoleon  which  delighted  them. 
But  again  we  resign  the  story  to  M.  Filon,  who  gives 
us  these  details :  — 

"The  Empress  has  often  told  me  that  the  even- 
ings when  M.  Beyle  came  were  things  apart.  '  We 
expected  them  with  impatience,  because  on  those 
days  we  sat  up  later.  And  his  stories  did  amuse 
us  so ! '  "  The  former  preceptor  of  the  unfortunate 
prince  imperial  adds :  "  Fancy  the  two  little  girls, 
seated  on  Beyle's  knees,  drinking  in  his  words,  and 
him  unfolding,  episode  by  episode,  the  prodigious 
drama  he  had  witnessed,  almost  as  he  has  described 
the  battle  of  Waterloo  in  the  Chartreuse  de  Parme, 
with  that  sincerity  of  touch,  that  gift  of  suggestive 
detail,  which  renders  things  vivid,  present,  and  very 
near.  In  the  midst  of  these  tales  of  glory  and 
misery,  whose  defeats  vie  in  grandeur  with  the  tri- 
umphs, the  man  of  Marengo  and  Moskowa,  the  hero 
in  the  little  hat  and  the  gray  great  coat,  made 
brusque  and  dazzling  apparitions.  To  render  him 
visible  to  the  eyes  as  well  as  the  mind,  Beyle  gave 
the  children  pictures.  The  Empress  still  preserves 
one  of  the  battle  of  Austerlitz,  presented  by  her 
friend." 


160  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

In  1837,  the  future  sovereign  and  her  sister  en- 
tered the  Convent  of  the  Sacred  Heart  in  the  rue 
de  Varenne,  Paris,  where  she  made  her  first  Com- 
munion. She  was  known  there  by  one  of  her  an- 
cestral names,  —  Palafox.  Eugenie  Palafox,  as  she 
was  then  called,  was  a  gay  and  charming  young 
girl,  much  beloved  by  the  nuns  and  their  pupils. 
Some  years  later,  when  she  was  affianced  to  the 
sovereign  of  France,  her  first  visit  was  to  the  con- 
vent where  one  happy  year  of  her  childhood  had 
been  spent.  She  wanted  to  see  everything,  —  the 
study  hall,  the  refectory,  the  dormitory,  and,  above 
all,  the  chapel,  where  she  had  prayed  to  God  with 
so  much  fervor.  She  recognized  an  old  nun  who 
filled  one  of  the  humblest  positions  in  the  convent, 
and  cordially  embraced  her. 

We  have  just  glanced  at  the  childhood  of  the 
Empress  Eugenie.  Let  us  return  to  Napoleon.  We 
left  him  in  the  citadel  of  Port  Louis,  near  the  road- 
stead of  Lorient,  where  he  was  to  take  ship  for  the 
United  States. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE   "ANDKOMEDA" 

T)EFORE  embarking  for  the  United  States,  Louis 
-^  Napoleon  remained  a  prisoner  for  ten  days  at 
Port  Louis.  The  winds  continued  contrary,  and  pre- 
vented the  frigate  Andromeda,  on  which  the  Prince 
was  to  make  the  passage,  from  leaving  the  harbor. 
Before  departing  from  the  shores  of  France,  he  wrote 
the  following  letter  to  a  friend :  "  I  go  away  heart- 
broken at  having  been  unable  to  share  the  fate  of 
my  companions  in  misfortune ;  I  wished  to  be  treated 
like  them.  My  enterprise  having  failed,  my  inten- 
tions ignored,  my  fate,  in  spite  of  myself,  made  dif- 
ferent from  that  of  the  men  whose  existence  I  have 
compromised,  I  shall  pass  in  everybody's  eyes  for  a 
fool,  an  ambitious  man,  and  a  coward.  I  shall  be 
able  to  endure  this  new  exile  with  resignation,  but 
what  disheartens  me  is  to  leave  the  men  in  irons 
whose  devotion  to  the  imperial  cause  has  been  so 
fatal.  I  should  like  to  have  been  the  only  victim. 
"  P.  S.  —  It  is  false  that  I  have  had  the  slightest  in- 
timate relation  with  Madame  Gordon.  It  is  false  that 
I  have  tried  to  borrow  money ;  it  is  false  that  I  have 
been  required  to  swear  not  to  return  to  Europe." 

M  161 


162  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

November  21, 1836,  the  Andromeda  was  towed  out 
by  a  steamboat,  and  M.  Villemain,  sub-prefect  of 
Lorient,  notified  the  Prince  that  he  was  about  to 
depart.  The  drawbridges  of  the  citadel  were  low- 
ered, and  the  prisoner  passed  out,  accompanied  by 
the  sub-prefect,  the  commander  of  the  place,  and  the 
officer  of  gendarmerie  at  Lorient,  as  well  as  by  the 
two  officers  and  subalterns  who  had  brought  him 
there.  They  all  entered  the  boats  which  were  to 
take  them  to  the  frigate.  As  he  was  about  to  go  on 
board,  he  said  to  M.  Villemain :  "  I  cannot  return  to 
France  until  the  lion  of  Waterloo  no  longer  stands 
erect  on  the  frontier."  The  sub-prefect  then  asked 
him  whether  he  would  find  any  resources  on  reaching 
the  United  States.  "None  at  all,"  replied  Louis 
Napoleon.  "Eh!  well,  Prince,"  returned  M.  Ville- 
main, "  the  King  has  ordered  me  to  give  you  fifteen 
thousand  francs,  which  are  in  gold  in  this  little  box." 
Louis  Napoleon  accepted.  He  cordially  saluted  the 
persons  who  had  accompanied  him,  the  voyage  began, 
and  the  Prince  beheld  the  shores  of  France  disappear 
in  front  of  him. 

The  first  fifteen  days  were  very  distressing.  In- 
cessant tempests  and  adverse  winds  tossed  them 
about  and  drove  the  frigate  into  the  British  Channel. 
Not  a  step  could  one  stir  on  board  without  clinging 
fast  to  whatever  one  could  lay  hands  on.  However, 
the  Prince  did  not  complain.  He  even  felt  happy  to 
be  detained  a  while  longer  near  his  country.  "If 
my  native  land  is  contrary  to  me,"  he  wrote,  "  the 


THE  "ANDROMEDA"  163 

winds  seem  favorable.  They  will  not  urge  me  far 
from  the  shores  of  France." 

For  seventeen  days  they  remained  in  the  Bay  of 
Biscay. 

In  the  thirty-second  degree  of  latitude,  the  captain 
of  the  Andromeda  opened  the  sealed  orders,  written 
by  the  Minister  of  Marine,  which  enjoined  him  to  take 
the  Prince  into  the  roadstead  of  Rio  Janeiro,  but  not  to 
allow  him  to  go  ashore  or  receive  any  manner  of  com- 
munication, and,  after  provisioning  the  vessel,  to  carry 
him  to  New  York.  The  frigate  was  destined  for  the 
South  Seas,  where  she  was  to  be  stationed  two  years. 
This  change  of  route  obliged  her  to  go  three  thou- 
sand miles  out  of  her  way,  for  from  New  York  she 
had  to  return  to  Rio,  coasting  far  to  the  east,  in 
order  to  catch  the  trade-winds.  The  mystery  sur- 
rounding the  determination  of  the  Government  and 
the  resulting  inconvenience  to  the  Andromeda  from 
so  long  a  devour,  prove  that  the  measure  had  been 
decreed  solely  to  prevent  the  Prince  from  communi- 
cating with  his  friends  before  the  close  of  their 
trial. 

But  Louis  Napoleon,  always  impassible,  made  no 
audible  complaint.  He  seemed  affected  by  the  re- 
spect shown  him  by  the  captain,  M.  Henri  de  Ville- 
neuve,  "  an  excellent  man,  frank  and  loyal  as  an  old 
sailor."  When,  in  1851,  M.  de  Villeneuve  received 
the  cross  of  a  commander  of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  a 
journal  recalled  the  fact  that  in  1836,  on  board  the 
Andromeda,  this  officer  had  shared  his  wardrobe  with 


164  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Louis  Napoleon.  The  Prince  said  to  him  at  the 
time :  "  I  am  very  poor  and  very  unfortunate ;  but 
remember  that  he  whom  you  oblige  will  one  day  be 
Emperor  of  the  French." 

Captive  on  a  ship  which  he  himself  described  as  a 
"  floating  fatherland,"  Napoleon's  nephew  continued, 
in  spite  of  his  cruel  disillusions,  to  believe  in  his 
star,  even  though  obliged  to  admit  that  for  the 
moment  it  was  eclipsed  by  heavy  clouds.  There 
were  times  when  a  singular  self-possession  was  re- 
quired to  prevent  the  profound  melancholy  which 
penetrated  his  soul  from  becoming  evident.  Decem- 
ber 14,  1836,  when  in  sight  of  the  Canaries,  he 
wrote  to  Queen  Hortense  :  "  My  dear  Mamma :  Each 
man  carries  a  world  within  himself,  made  up  of  all 
that  he  has  seen  and  loved,  and  which  he  incessantly 
re-enters,  even  when  he  would  like  to  think  of  the 
world  without.  At  such  times  I  do  not  know  which 
is  most  painful,  to  recall  the  miseries  which  have 
stricken  one,  or  the  happy  days  which  are  no  more. 

"The  winter  is  over,  and  it  is  once  more  summer; 
trade-winds  have  succeeded  the  tempests,  and  that 
permits  me  to  spend  most  of  the  time  on  the  bridge. 
Sitting  on  the  poop,  I  reflect  on  what  has  happened 
to  me,  and  think  of  you  and  Arenenberg.  Situations 
depend  on  the  dispositions  one  brings  to  them;  two 
months  ago  I  wished  never  to  return  to  Switzerland; 
now,  if  I  should  abandon  myself  to  my  impressions, 
I  would  ask  nothing  better  than  to  find  myself  once 
more  in  my  little  room,  in  that  beautiful  country 


THE  "ANDROMEDA"  165 

where  it  seems  to  me  I  should  have  been  so  happy. 
Alas !  when  one  has  a  soul  that  feels  deeply,  one  is 
fated  to  pass  one's  days  crushed  by  his  own  inaction 
or  in  the  convulsions  of  afflicting  situations." 

The  Prince  was  under  no  constraint  with  his 
mother.  Recalling  his  chagrin  at  having  been  un- 
able to  obtain  the  hand  of  his  cousin,  the  Princesse 
Mathilde,  he  added  in  the  same  letter:  "When  I 
returned,  some  months  ago,  from  taking  Mathilde 
home,  on  entering  the  park  I  found  a  tree  broken 
by  the  storm,  and  I  said  to  myself:  'Our  marriage 
will  be  broken  off  by  fate.'  What  I  vaguely  fancied 
has  been  realized.  Have  I  then  exhausted,  in  1836, 
all  the  share  of  happiness  that  fell  to  my  lot?" 

This  letter,  pervaded  by  a  dreamy  melancholy, 
ended  as  follows:  "Do  not  accuse  me  of  weakness 
if  in  communicating  with  you  I  give  free  rein  to  all 
my  impressions.  One  may  regret  what  he  has  lost 
without  repenting  of  what  he  has  done.  Our  sen- 
sations, moreover,  are  not  so  independent  of  interior 
causes  that  our  ideas  do  not  change  somewhat  in 
accordance  with  the  objects  which  surround  us;  the 
brightness  of  the  sunlight  or  the  direction  of  the 
wind  have  a  great  influence  on  our  moral  condition. 
When  the  weather  is  fine,  as  it  is  to-day,  and  the 
sea  as  calm  as  Lake  Constance;  when  we  walk  up 
and  down  in  the  evenings,  and  the  moon  —  the  same 
moon — sheds  the  same  bluish  light  upon  us;  when 
the  atmosphere,  in  fine,  is  as  soft  as  that  of  a  Euro- 
pean August, — then  I  am  more  sad  than  usual:  all 


166  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

memories,  joyous  or  painful,  weigh  with  the  same 
heaviness  on  my  breast;  fine  weather  dilates  the 
heart  and  renders  it  more  impressionable,  while  bad 
weather  contracts  it;  the  passions  alone  are  above 
the  inclemencies  of  the  seasons." 

Louis  Napoleon,  almost  always  melancholy,  was 
never  discouraged.  The  ardor  of  his  political  faith 
reanimated  and  sustained  him.  He  was  not  merely 
a  dreamer,  but  a  fanatic.  His  idolatry  for  the  memory 
of  the  man  of  Austerlitz  kept  his  soul  in  a  state  of 
perpetual  ecstasy.  He  wrote  to  Colonel  Vaudrey: 
"  Between  the  tropics  and  under  the  wind  from 
Saint  Helena  for  two  months,  alas !  I  was  unable 
to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  historic  rock ;  but  it  always 
seemed  as  if  the  breezes  bore  me  the  last  words 
addressed  by  the  dying  Emperor  to  his  companions 
in  misfortune:  — 

"  '  I  have  sanctioned  all  the  principles  of  the  Revo- 
lution, I  have  infused  them  into  my  laws  and  actions; 
there  is  not  one  of  them  I  have  not  consecrated ;  un- 
happily, the  circumstances  were  grave.  .  .  .  France 
judges  me  indulgently;  she  credits  me  with  my 
intentions,  she  cherishes  my  name,  my  victories ; 
imitate  her,  be  faithful  to  the  opinions  you  have 
defended,  to  the  glory  you  have  acquired;  beyond 
that  there  is  nothing  but  shame  and  confusion.'  " 

The  Prince  had  won  the  officers  and  sailors  by  his 
gentleness  and  extreme  politeness.  "  To  see  him 
amongst  us,"  one  of  them  has  said,  "you  would 
have  supposed  him  admiral  on  his  own  deck  rather 


THE  "ANDROMEDA"  167 

than  a  banished  man."  He  dined  at  the  table  of  the 
captain,  who  was  most  considerate,  and  had  given  up 
to  him  the  after-cabin.  They  crossed  the  line  De- 
cember 28,  and  the  captain  dispensed  him  from  the 
usual  ceremonies.  On  New  Year's  Day  he  was  vis- 
ited by  all  the  officers,  and  wrote  this  letter  to  his 
mother :  — 

"  January  1, 1837. —  My  dear  Mamma :  This  is  New 
Year's  Day ;  I  am  fifteen  hundred  leagues  away  from 
you,  in  another  hemisphere;  fortunately,  thought 
traverses  all  that  space  in  less  than  a  second.  I  am 
near  you,  I  am  telling  you  all  my  regret  for  the  tor- 
ments I  have  occasioned  you ;  I  renew  the  expression 
of  my  tenderness  and  my  gratitude. 

"This  morning  the  officers  came  in  a  body  to 
wish  me  a  happy  New  Year.  I  was  affected  by  this 
courtesy  on  their  part.  We  sat  down  at  table  at 
half-past  four  o'clock;  as  we  are  17°  of  longitude 
west  from  Constance,  it  was  then  seven  o'clock  at 
Arenenberg ;  you  were  probably  eating  your  dinner ; 
mentally  I  drank  your  health;  perhaps  you  did  as 
much  for  me ;  at  any  rate,  it  pleased  me  at  the  mo- 
ment to  think  so.  I  thought  also  of  my  companions 
in  misfortune ;  alas !  I  am  always  thinking  of  them  ! 
I  thought  that  they  were  more  unhappy  than  I,  and 
that  thought  made  me  more  unhappy  than  they." 

January  5  the  Prince  wrote  another  letter  to  his 
mother :  "  Yesterday  we  had  a  squall  which  broke 
upon  us  with  extreme  violence.  If  the  sails  had  not 
been  torn  by  the  wind,  the  frigate  might  have  been 


168  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

in  danger ;  a  mast  was  broken ;  the  rain  fell  so  im- 
petuously that  it  turned  the  sea  quite  white.  To-day 
the  sky  is  as  fine  as  usual,  the  damages  are  repaired, 
bad  weather  is  already  forgotten ;  why  is  it  not  the 
same  with  the  storms  of  life !  Apropos  of  the  frig- 
ate, the  captain  tells  me  that  the  one  which  bore 
your  name  is  now  in  the  South  Seas,  and  is  called 
la  Flore." 

The  Andromeda  entered  the  roadstead  of  the 
capital  of  Brazil,  January  10,  and  the  Prince  wrote 
to  his  mother:  "We  have  just  arrived  at  Rio  Ja- 
neiro; the  view  of  the  harbor  is  superb;  to-morrow 
I  will  make  a  drawing  of  it.  I  hope  this  letter  may 
soon  reach  you.  Do  not  think  of  rejoining  me;  I 
do  not  know  yet  where  I  shall  settle ;  perhaps  I 
shall  find  more  chances  of  living  in  South  America ; 
the  labor  to  which  the  uncertainty  of  my  fate  con- 
strains me  will  be  the  only  consolation  I  shall  have. 
Adieu,  mother;  remember  me  to  your  old  servants 
and  our  friends  in  Thurgau  and  Constance.  I  am 
in  good  health.  Your  affectionate  and  respectful 
son. 

After  a  short  stay  in  the  roadstead  of  Brazil,  dur- 
ing which  the  Prince  was  not  permitted  to  go  ashore, 
the  Andromeda  continued  its  voyage  to  the  United 
States,  and  arrived  at  Norfolk,  March  30,  1837. 
Louis  Napoleon  set  foot  upon  American  soil.  He 
was  at  liberty. 

And  yet  his  only  thought  was  for  the  flag  and 
the  compatriots  from  whom  he  was  separated.     "  Be- 


THE  "ANDROMEDA"  169 

hold  the  oddity  of  human  sentiments,"  he  wrote  to 
Colonel  Vaudrey.  "Twice  only  in  my  unfortunate 
enterprise  have  tears  betrayed  my  sorrow;  once 
when,  dragged  far  away  from  you,  I  knew  I  could 
not  be  there  to  share  your  fate,  and  again  when, 
on  quitting  my  frigate,  I  was  about  to  regain  my 
liberty." 


> 


CHAPTER  XVI 

NEW    YORK 

A  T  the  very  moment  when  he  set  foot  on  the  soil 
of  the  United  States,  Louis  Napoleon  heard 
a  piece  of  news  which  overwhelmed  him  with  joy. 
His  accomplices  in  the  Strasburg  affair  had  been 
acquitted  by  the  jury  of  that  city,  January  18,  1837. 
Enthusiastic  manifestations  had  proceeded  from  all 
parts  of  the  hall  when  the  verdict  was  rendered. 
People  shouted:  "Long  live  the  jury!  Long  live 
Alsace!"  The  accused  men  when  set  at  liberty 
entered  a  carriage  which  was  followed  by  applauding 
people.  Strasburg  had  put  on  a  festal  appearance, 
and  even  the  garrison  had  shared  in  the  popular 
satisfaction. 

The  Prince  left  Norfolk  at  once  and  went  to  New 
York,  where,  on  the  day  of  his  arrival,  he  dined  at 
the  house  of  General  Watson  Webb,  with  General 
Scott  and  several  senators  and  statesmen.  He  had 
just  received,  on  entering  the  great  American  city, 
some  letters  which  had  been  a  very  precious  conso- 
lation. They  were  written  by  King  Louis  and  Queen 
Hortense.  He  replied  as  follows  to  that  of  King 
Louis :  — 

170 


NEW  YORK  171 


"New  Ycrk,  April  10,  1837.  — My  dear  Father: 
After  passing  four  months  and  a  half  at  sea,  I  finally 
landed  at  Norfolk,  March  30.  On  arriving  here  I 
found  a  letter  which  sent  me  your  blessing.  Of  all 
I  could  expect  here,  this  was  the  sweetest  to  my 
heart.  I  have  received  many  letters,  and  in  my 
misfortune  I  esteem  myself  happy  to  meet  so  many 
persons  who  show  me  a  real  attachment.  I  have 
been  unfortunate,  but,  believe  me,  I  have  done  noth- 
ing contrary  to  either  the  honor  or  the  dignity  of 
the  name  I  bear." 

Queen  Hortense's  letters  had  been  accumulating 
in  New  York  for  several  months,  she  being  ignorant 
of  the  long  detour  made  by  the  Andromeda.  Her 
correspondence  was  like  balm  to  the  exile's  heart. 
The  heart  of  a  mother  is  an  asylum  where  all  the 
disinherited  of  fate  find  ineffable  consolations.  Hor- 
tense  was  far  from  having  approved  the  Prince's 
audacious  enterprise.  He  had  sedulously  concealed 
it  from  her,  knowing  that  had  she  been  aware  of 
such  a  project  she  would  have  done  everything  to 
dissuade  him  from  it.  But  when  her  son  was  un- 
fortunate and  abandoned  by  nearly  all  the  Bonaparte 
family,  she  would  not  write  him  a  single  line  which 
might  distress  him.  Glad  to  know  that  he  would 
be  rejoined  in  New  York  by  his  faithful  attendant, 
Charles  The'lin,  and  by  his  best  friend,  M.  Arese, 
a  Milanese,  she  sent  only  words  of  encouragement 
and  affection  to  this  beloved  son,  who  had  been 
betrayed    by    fortune.      Louis    Napoleon    read    and 


172  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

re-read   these   letters  which  re-kindled  hope  in  his 
soul. 

In  the  first  one,  dated  December  18,  1836,  Queen 
Hortense  said :  "  Arese  has  gone  to  get  his  passports 
so  as  to  rejoin  you.  He  will  tell  you  about  the 
sadness  of  the  country.  The  poor  Princesse  de 
Hohenzollern  has  been  to  see  me.  Josephine  also. 
The  poor  princess  grieves  like  a  mother  in  thinking 
she  will  never  see  you  again.  Never  have  I  received 
so  many  proofs  of  interest,  and  yet  I  have  been  more 
unhappy.  For  you  live,  and  I  ask  no  more.  I  dare 
not  think  I  am  to  be  pitied,  since  we  may  yet  see 
each  other." 

Here  are  several  extracts  from  the  other  letters :  — 

"December  26.  —  Charles  Thelin  will  tell  you 
that  all  the  prisoners  are  well  and  hopeful.  I  sent 
another  hundred  louis  lately  to  assist  in  their  ex- 
penses. If  they  are  acquitted,  Colonel  Vaudrey 
will  come  here  to  me,  and  I  will  keep  him  until 
you  can  find  a  place  for  him  in  America,  and  I 
will  give  a  pension  of  a  thousand  francs  to  each  of 
his  children." 

"  December  26.  —  One  thing  that  has  pleased  me  is 
that  Napoleon  has  been  well,  and  I  conjecture  that 
he  has  held  his  own  against  your  uncles  in  all  the 
unpleasant  things  they  said  about  you.  .  .  .  This 
villanous  year  is  almost  over.  It  seems  long  to 
1837 ! " 

"January  3, 1837.  —  I  wrote  to  your  Uncle  Joseph 
that  I  hoped  to  see  him  very  soon;  and  I  am  not 


\ 


NEW  TOBK  173 


supposed  to  have  any  notion  of  his  great  anger. 
Your  dear  family  resemble  the  rest  of  the  world  in 
always  crediting  me  with  ambitious  ideas.  How 
well  people  know  me  I  I  am  so  disgusted  with 
men  and  with  worldly  things  that  you  would  not 
believe  how  I  congratulate  myself  on  your  enter- 
prise having  turned  out  badly.  You  will  live  tran- 
quilly and  without  danger,  and  if  you  had  succeeded, 
you  would  live  amidst  the  most  despicable  passions. 
Grandeur  is  surrounded  only  by  vultures  who  look 
upon  it  as  their  prey.  ...  In  misfortune,  at  least, 
they  will  abandon  and  turn  their  backs  upon  one ; 
when  one  lives  alone  one  is  happier." 

The  Prince  wrote  to  his  mother  from  New  York, 
April  20,  1837.  "  Here  I  am,  then,  on  terra  firma ! 
.  .  .  On  landing  I  heard  that  my  friends  had  been 
acquitted.  You  understand  what  joy  that  gave  me, 
for,  during  the  four  months  and  a  half  that  I  had  no 
news,  the  dread  of  learning  that  they  had  been  con- 
demned was  like  an  incessant  nightmare.  On  quit- 
ting the  frigate  over  which  the  tricolor  floated,  and 
where  so  much  interest  in  me  had  been  shown,  I  wept 
as  if  I  were  leaving  my  country  again." 

The  next  day,  April  21,  he  addressed  a  long  letter 
to  his  Uncle  Joseph  to  explain  his  conduct,  and  com- 
plain of  what  he  considered  the  injustice  of  his  fam- 
ily in  his  regard.  The  letter  began  thus :  "  My  dear 
Uncle :  On  arriving  in  the  United  States,  I  hoped  to 
find  a  letter  from  you.  I  own  that  I  was  deeply 
grieved  to  learn  that  you  were  prejudiced  against 


174  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

me;  I  was  even  astonished,  knowing  your  judg- 
ment and  your  heart.  Yes,  uncle,  you  must  have 
been  singularly  led  astray  concerning  me  to  have 
repelled  as  enemies  the  men  who  devoted  them- 
selves to  the  cause  of  the  Empire. 

"If  victorious  at  Strasburg  (and  very  little  was 
lacking  to  make  me  so),  I  had  made  my  way  to 
Paris,  drawing  after  me  the  population  fascinated 
by  memories  of  the  Empire,  and  on  reaching  the 
capital  as  a  'pretender'  I  had  possessed  myself  of 
legal  power,  oh !  then  there  would  have  been  a 
friendly  prudence  in  disowning  my  conduct  and 
coming  to  a  rupture  with  me !  But  what !  I  at- 
tempt one  of  those  hardy  enterprises  which  alone 
restore  what  twenty  years  of  peace  have  sunk  into 
oblivion ;  I  fling  myself  into  it  at  the  sacrifice  of  my 
life,  persuaded  that  even  my  death  would  be  useful 
to  our  cause ;  I  escape,  against  my  will,  from  bayo- 
nets and  the  scaffold,  and,  on  arriving  in  port,  I 
find  on  the  part  of  my  family  only  contempt  and 
scorn." 

The  conclusion  of  this  letter  was  worded  as  fol- 
lows: "I  know  you  too  well,  my  dear  uncle,  to 
doubt  your  heart  or  cease  to  hope  for  your  return 
to  juster  sentiments  toward  me  and  those  who  have 
compromised  themselves  for  our  cause.  As  for  me, 
my  line  of  conduct  will  always  be  the  same.  The 
sympathy  of  which  so  many  persons  have  given  me 
proof,  my  conscience,  which  reproaches  me  with  noth- 
ing, in  fine,  the  persuasion  that  if  the  Emperor  sees 


NEW  YORK  175 


me  from  the  height  of  heaven,  he  will  be  satisfied 
with  me,  are  so  many  compensations  for  all  the  dis- 
appointments and  injustice  I  have  experienced.  My 
enterprise  came  to  nothing,  it  is  true,  but  it  has 
announced  to  France  that  the  Emperor's  family 
is  not  yet  dead,  that  it  still  has  loyal  friends;  in 
fine,  that  its  pretensions  are  not  limited  to  a  de- 
mand on  the  Government  for  certain  funds,  but 
to  establishing  in  favor  of  the  people  what  foreign- 
ers and  the  Bourbons  have  destroyed.  That  is 
what  I  have  done ;  is  it  for  you  to  begrudge  it  to 
me  ?  " 

April  30,  Louis  Napoleon  developed  the  same 
essay  at  personal  justification  in  a  long  letter  ad- 
dressed to  his  friend  M.  Vieillard,  from  which  we 
make  some  extracts :  "  I  was  doing,  by  a  bold  stroke, 
in  one  day,  the  work  of  perhaps  ten  years ;  succeed- 
ing, I  was  sparing  France  the  struggles,  troubles,  and 
disorders  which  will,  I  think,  sooner  or  later  happen. 
My  position  was  clear,  precise,  and  therefore  easy. 
.  .  .  Making  a  revolution  with  fifteen  persons,  if  I 
reached  Paris,  I  should  owe  my  success  to  the  people 
only,  not  to  a  party ;  arriving  as  a  conqueror,  I  would 
willingly  lay  my  sword  down  on  the  altar  of  the 
country.  .  .  .  But,  on  entering  France,  I  did  not 
think  of  the  r61e  created  for  me  by  defeat;  I  re- 
lied, in  case  of  a  misfortune,  on  my  proclamations  as 
my  last  testament,  and  on  death  as  a  benefit." 

In  New  York,  as  in  Europe,  Louis  Napoleon  was 
always  haunted  by  the  same  imperial  vision,  but  he 


176  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

adjourned  to  an  indefinite  period  the  realization  of 
his  dream.  His  attitude  caused  the  French  legation 
no  anxiety.  M.  Paget,  charge*  d'affaires  from  France 
to  Washington,  contented  himself  with  announcing 
his  arrival  to  his  government  in  these  lines,  unaccom- 
panied by  any  comment :  "  The  frigate  Andromeda, 
with  Prince  Louis  Bonaparte  on  board,  arrived  last 
Thursday  from  Rio  Janeiro  at  Norfolk,  after  a 
voyage  of  fifty-eight  days."  The  presence  of  the 
future  Emperor  on  American  soil  seemed  an  unim- 
portant fact.  At  this  period  he  did  not  conspire. 
In  New  York  he  had  found  two  of  his  cousins, 
Achille  and  Lucien  Murat,  who  were  living  in  the 
simplest  style.  The  first  was  occupied  in  the  post- 
office.  The  second  had  married  an  American,  Miss 
Carolina  Georgina  Frazer,  who  conducted  an  insti- 
tution for  young  girls.  Louis  Napoleon  had  also  met 
in  New  York  several  French  Bonapartists,  Lieutenant 
Lecomte,  who  had  followed  King  Joseph  in  1815, 
and  the  Peugnier  brothers,  formerly  implicated  in 
the  conspiracy  of  Belfort.  But  in  America  the  Prince 
did  not  dream  of  organizing  any  conspiracy.  He 
lived  chiefly  in  the  society  of  certain  American  fami- 
lies by  whom  he  was  received  in  the  most  hospitable 
manner.  They  considered  him  a  gentleman,  full  of 
gentleness  and  reserve.  One  of  the  persons  whom  he 
saw  most  frequently,  the  Rev.  E.  Stewart,  a  brother- 
in-law  of  General  Scott,  has  written  in  a  book  enti- 
tled Vindication :  "  If  I  had  noted  down  all  the  words 
of  Louis  Napoleon,  and  could  reproduce  them  now 


NEW  YORK  177 


that  his  visions  have  been  realized,  it  would  be  seen 
that  the  greater  part  of  them  were  as  prophetic  as 
those  that  have  been  attributed  to  the  prisoner  of 
Saint  Helena.  When  the  Prince  spoke  of  his  mother, 
his  voice  became  as  soft  as  that  of  a  woman." 

The  youthful  civilization  of  the  great  American 
republic  and  the  prodigious  rapidity  of  its  progress 
interested  Louis  Napoleon  to  the  highest  degree.  It 
was  his  intention  to  remain  a  whole  year  in  the  United 
States  and  study  its  institutions  in  the  course  of  a 
long  journey,  the  itinerary  of  which  he  was  already 
arranging  with  the  Rev.  E.  Stewart.  He  was  dining 
at  the  latter's  house,  June  3,  when  he  received  a 
letter  which  modified  all  his  plans.  He  had  scarcely 
read  the  first  lines  when  he  exclaimed :  "  My  mother 
is  ill !  I  must  see  her !  Instead  of  making  a  tour 
through  the  United  States,  I  shall  take  the  first  ship 
for  England.  If  necessary,  I  shall  apply  for  a  pass- 
port to  every  consulate  in  London,  and  if  they  refuse 
it,  well!  I  shall  continue  my  journey  in  spite  of 
them." 

Before  departing,  the  Prince  wrote  a  letter  in  Eng- 
lish, June  6,  to  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
It  ran  as  follows :  "  Mr.  President :  I  am  unwilling 
to  leave  the  United  States  without  expressing  to 
Your  Excellency  my  regret  at  having  been  unable  to 
make  your  acquaintance  in  Washington.  Although 
taken  to  America  by  fatality,  I  hoped  to  employ 
my  exile  profitably  in  studying  its  great  men ;  I 
would  have  liked  also   to  study  the  manners  and 


LOUIS  NAPOLEON 


institutions  of  a  people  who  have  made  more  con- 
quests by  commerce  and  industry  than  we  in  Europe 
have  made  by  arms. 

"  I  hoped,  under  the  aegis  of  your  protecting  laws, 
to  travel  through  a  country  which  has  excited  my 
sympathy,  since  its  history  and  prosperity  are  so 
closely  united  to  French  glory.  An  imperious  duty 
recalls  me  to  the  Old  World.  My  mother  is  danger- 
ously ill,  and  no  political  consideration  detaining  me 
here,  I  am  starting  for  England,  whence  I  shall  try 
to  reach  Switzerland. 

"  It  is  with  pleasure,  Mr.  President,  that  I  enter 
into  these  details  with  you,  who  may  have  given 
credence  to  certain  calumnious  rumors  designating 
me  as  under  engagements  to  the  French  Govern- 
ment. Appreciating  the  attitude  of  the  representa- 
tives of  a  free  country,  I  should  be  happy  to  have  it 
well  known  that  with  the  name  I  bear,  it  would  be 
impossible  for  me  to  depart  for  a  moment  from  the 
path  laid  down  for  me  by  my  conscience,  my  honor, 
and  my  duty." 

June  12,  1837,  Louis  Napoleon  embarked  at  New 
York  for  England,  on  the  packet-boat  George  Wash- 
ington. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

SOME  DAYS   IN  LONDON 

PvURING  a  voyage  which  lasted  twenty -three 
-^>^  days,  Louis  Napoleon  forgot  his  political 
dreams.  He  had  now  only  one  fixed  idea:  to  see 
his  mother  alive.  He  wrote  her  this  letter  the  day 
before  landing  on  the  coast  of  England :  — 

"  July  9.  At  sea.  —  My  dear  Mamma :  The  news  I 
received  concerning  your  health  induced  me  to  re- 
turn to  Europe  as  soon  as  possible.  The  first  packet 
was  the  George  Washington,  and  I  secured  my  berth 
at  once.  .  .  .  On  reaching  London  I  intend  to  ask 
the  Prussian  minister  for  a  passport  to  Switzerland, 
and  claim  his  government's  permission  to  remain 
there.  I  hope  it  will  be  granted ;  but  as  I  should  be 
obliged  to  remain  in  London  if  they  are  cruel  enough 
to  forbid  my  going  to  take  care  of  you,  a  sick  woman, 
have  the  goodness  to  write  me  there  in  any  case. 
You  can  well  understand  how  impatient  I  am  to 
know  how  you  are.  I  dare  not  dwell  on  the  happi- 
ness of  seeing  you  so  soon.  Ah !  how  the  thought 
of  climbing  the  hill  of  Arenenberg  sets  my  heart 
beating  already.  If  Heaven  permits  me  to  be  with 
you  within  a  few  weeks,  I  shall  believe  that  all  that 
has  happened  to  me  is  a  dream." 

179 


180  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

The  Prince  landed  the  next  day  at  Liverpool, 
where  he  posted  this  letter,  and  then  went  at  once 
to  London,  where  he  wrote  to  King  Louis :  "  My 
dear  Father :  Although  I  am  still  far  away  from  you, 
yet  as  the  ocean  no  longer  divides  us,  it  is  pleasant 
to  think  that  I  can  hear  from  you  in  a  few  days. 
The  day  I  left  New  York  I  received  a  letter  from 
you  which  gave  me  great  pleasure,  for  the  tenderness 
of  a  father  and  a  mother  console  one  for  many  things. 
...  Of  the  seven  months  since  I  left  Europe,  I 
have  spent  five  at  sea.  I  hoped  to  see  my  Uncle 
Joseph  here,  but  he  left  London  as  soon  as  he 
heard  of  my  arrival.  .  .  .  You  say  my  mother  is  a 
little  better,  but  that  nevertheless  her  malady  is  very 
serious.  You  also  tell  me  that  your  own  health  is 
declining.  Must  I  then  have  causes  for  sorrow  and 
regret  on  every  side  ?  I  am  awaiting  my  passports 
here  with  impatience.  If  they  are  refused,  I  shall 
not  know  what  to  do.  However,  the  object  of  my 
journey  is  so  legitimate,  that  it  seems  impossible  that 
any  obstacle  to  it  should  be  interposed." 

In  the  same  letter,  Louis  Napoleon  described  the 
state  of  his  mind  in  sombre  colors:  "If  you  knew, 
my  dear  father,  how  sad  I  am,  alone  amidst  the  tur- 
moil of  London,  alone  amongst  relatives  who  fly  from 
me  or  enemies  who  suspect  me !  My  mother  is  dying, 
and  I  cannot  bring  her  the  consolations  of  a  son ;  my 
father  is  ill,  and  I  cannot  hope  to  see  him.  What 
have  I  done  to  be  the  pariah  of  Europe  and  my 
family  ?     I  have  carried  the  flag  of  Austerlitz  for  a 


SOME  DAYS  IN  LONDON  181 

few  minute3  in  a  French  city  and  offered  myself  in 
holocaust  to  the  memory  of  the  captive  of  Saint 
Helena.  Ah !  yes,  it  may  be  that  you  blame  my 
conduct ;  but  never  refuse  me  your  affection.  That, 
alas !  is  all  I  have  left !  " 

As  soon  as  he  arrived  in  London,  Louis  Napoleon 
tried  to  obtain  a  passport  for  Switzerland  through 
the  intermediation  of  the  Austrian  ambassador, 
Prince  Esterhazy.  The  latter  found  no  more  press- 
ing business  than  to  communicate  this  fact  to  the 
French  ambassador,  General  Comte  S^bastiani,  after- 
wards marshal.  July  11,  the  ambassador  of  King 
Louis  Philippe  wrote  to  Comte  Mole*,  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs :  "  Louis  Bonaparte  is  in  London. 
No  proceeding  on  his  part  has  as  yet  explained  to 
me  his  presence  in  this  country,  and  I  was  about 
to  limit  myself  to  giving  you  the  news,  when  an 
interview  I  had  to-day  with  Prince  Esterhazy,  fur- 
nished me  with  the  information  I  desired.  This  am- 
bassador came  to  acquaint  me  with  a  visit  he  had 
received  from  Lady  Dudley  Stuart  (daughter  of 
Lucien  Bonaparte),  in  which  she  solicited  his  inter- 
mediation with  me.  They  wanted  a  passport,  or 
rather,  in  case  I  would  not  be  authorized  to  deliver 
it  immediately,  to  obtain  in  the  name  of  the  King's 
Government,  and  by  my  intervention,  a  permission 
to  pass  through  French  territory  in  order  to  reach 
either  Tuscany  or  Switzerland.  I  answered  Prince 
Esterhazy  that  I  would  not  make  such  a  request; 
that  I  might  think  proper  to  acquaint  my  govern- 


182  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

ment  with  the  projects  of  Louis  Bonaparte,  but  that 
I  did  not  think  it  my  duty  to  become  his  interme- 
diary with  Your  Excellency.  I  added  that  to  me  it 
seemed  unfitting  for  any  government  to  show  an 
interest  in  this  person  by  intermeddling  with  his 
affairs.  The  Austrian  ambassador  was  entirely  of 
my  way  of  thinking,  and  he  will  acquaint  Lady 
Dudley  with  my  refusal,  which  he  understands  and 
approves." 

The  French  Government  no  sooner  heard  of  Louis 
Napoleon's  presence  on  English  soil  than  it  became 
uneasy.  Comte  Mold  replied  as  follows,  July  19,  to 
General  Se*bastiani :  "  I  have  received  the  despatch 
by  which  you  do  me  the  honor  to  inform  me  of  the 
arrival  of  Louis  Bonaparte  in  London,  and  the  strange 
request  transmitted  to  you  on  his  part.  I  beg  you 
to  neglect  no  means  of  obtaining  exact  information 
of  the  proceedings  of  this  young  man,  and  his  plans 
of  travel.  In  case  he  should  leave  England,  you 
will  be  so  kind  as  to  inform  me  at  once,  by  a  courier, 
and  by  telegraph,  of  the  direction  he  may  take." 

The  ambassador  replied  by  this  despatch,  on  July 
21:  "I  have  received  the  letter  in  which  Your 
Excellency  informs  me  of  the  just  indignation  with 
which  the  King's  Government  heard  of  the  incon- 
ceivable request  of  Louis  Bonaparte.  I  immediately 
put  myself  in  communication  with  Lord  John  Russell 
to  obtain  the  surveillance  of  the  London  police  over 
the  proceedings  of  that  young  man,  and  have  been 
promised   that  the  King's  ambassador  shall   be  in- 


SOME  DAYS  IN  LONDON  183 

formed,  of  whatever  may  interest  him  in  that  par- 
ticular. None  the  less,  I  must  remark  to  Your 
Excellency  that  police  action  in  this  country  is 
insufficient,  and  that  nothing  is  easier  than  to  with* 
draw  one's  self  from  all  investigation.  I  think 
that,  even  from  Paris,  means  of  surveillance  might 
be  suggested,  which  the  English  Government,  I  am 
sure,  would  second  with  all  its  energy.  In  any 
case,  Your  Excellency  may  rely  on  mine." 

Despairing  of  a  passport  from  the  French  Em- 
bassy, the  Prince  tried  to  obtain  one  from  that  of 
Austria,  or  from  the  Prussian  legation.  But  both 
Prince  Esterhazy  and  Baron  von  Biilow  met  him 
with  an  absolute  refusal. 

On  the  other  hand,  he  received  the  following 
letter  from  his  mother,  dated  July  17:  "My  dear 
child:  I  am  very  happy  to  know  you  have  at  last 
returned  to  Europe.  It  is  a  consolation;  for  that 
America  is  at  the  end  of  the  world!  Every  one 
here  will  be  rejoiced  to  see  you;  and  the  canton 
says  you  are  its  citizen,  and  that  if  you  once  arrive, 
no  one  will  have  the  right  to  send  you  away.  You 
must  come,  then ;  but  no  one  will  give  you  a 
passport  in  your  own  name.  The  matter  will  not 
be  easy;  and  yet  France  wishes  to  be  kindly. 
M.  Desportes  has  written  me,  in  the  name  of 
General  Gerard,  that  the  Government  would  find 
it  a  very  simple  matter  for  you  to  come  and  take 
care  of  your  mother,  and  that  you  would  not  be 
disturbed ;    but    no   authorization    would   be  given, 


184  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

because,  in  any  case,  they  want  to  retain  the  means 
of  banishing  you,  if  you  cause  alarm.  Austria  will 
be  the  most  kindly  disposed ;  but  you  ought  to 
ask  nothing  from  Prussia  but  a  simple  visa.  I  am 
better,  on  the  whole,  but  still  very  feeble  ;  and  though 
I  sleep  again,  I  have  no  appetite.  I  do  not  walk  yet. 
They  carry  me  out  to  take  the  air.  Anyhow,  your 
return  will  do  me  good,  I  hope.  I  embrace  you  very 
tenderly.     I  will  not  write  any  longer." 

Following  his  mother's  advice,  the  Prince  gave 
up  the  attempt  to  obtain  a  passport  in  his  own 
name.  He  determined  to  make  use  of  one  given 
to  a  man  named  Robinson,  in  the  United  States ; 
and  after  having  it  visaed  by  the  Swiss  consul  at 
London,  he  attempted  to  outwit  the  English  police 
and  leave  England  without  their  knowledge.  He 
succeeded  in  doing  so.  M.  de  Bourqueney,  French 
charge*  d'affaires  in  the  absence  of  General  Se'bastiani, 
wrote  to  Comte  Mole* :  "  London,  July  31,  1837, 
7  p.m.  —  Sir  F.  Roe,  chief  of  the  London  police, 
has  just  announced  to  me  that  all  trace  of  Louis 
Bonaparte  has  been  lost;  he  is  thought  to  have 
started  for  the  continent.  Saturday,  the  29th,  he 
left  the  hotel  where  he  had  been  staying.  His 
luggage  was  taken  to  a  saddler's,  where  he  had 
recently  bought  a  carriage.  Post-horses  had  been 
demanded  by  the  servant  who  brought  the  luggage, 
and  the  loaded  carriage  left  London.  While  this 
pretended  change  of  quarters  was  going  on,  Louis 
Bonaparte  announced  his  departure  for  Richmond, 


SOME  DATS  IN  LONDON  185 

where  he  spent  the  night  at  an  inn.  Yesterday, 
Sunday,  he  came  back  from  Richmond  in  a  post- 
chaise.  But  he  stopped  at  the  first  toll-gate  outside 
of  London.  There  he  got  into  an  omnibus.  Since 
then,  no  one  knows  what  has  become  of  him.  Sir 
F.  Roe  has  no  doubt  that  be  rejoined  his  carriage 
at  some  distance  from  London.  .  .  .  The  English 
police  can  give  me  no  information  as  to  the  port  at 
which  he  meant  to  embark." 

August  3,  Comte  Mold  wrote  to  M.  de  Bour- 
queney :  "  The  contents  of  your  despatches,  as  well 
as  the  information  that  reaches  me  from  the  Court 
of  Baden,  incline  me  to  believe  that  Louis  Bonaparte 
has  now  left  England.  I  will  tell  you,  for  your  guid- 
ance, that  I  have  written  to  the  King's  ambassador 
in  Switzerland  to  have  patience  until  the  Duchesse 
de  Saint-Leu  shall  either  die,  or  escape  the  imminent 
danger  which  all  the  reports  that  reach  me  agree 
in  recognizing.  The  King,  whose  generosity  is  inex- 
haustible, is  unwilling,  notwithstanding  the  ingrati- 
tude and  inconceivable  conduct  of  Louis  Bonaparte, 
that  this  young  man  should  be  torn  from  the  arms 
of  his  dying  mother.  But  when  he  has  either 
regained  or  lost  her,  we  shall  not  allow  him  to 
make  Switzerland  again  the  theatre  of  his  intrigues, 
but  will  make  an  explicit  demand  that  the  Govern- 
ment of  that  country  shall  rid  itself  of  so  incon- 
venient and  dangerous  a  guest.  I  confide  these 
details  to  your  prudence.  You  will  understand 
what  is  confidential  in  them." 


186  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

The  French  Government  received  the  following 
information  through  a  despatch  from  M.  de  Bacourt, 
Minister  of  France  at  Baden,  under  date  of  August 
10,  1837:  "Louis  Napoleon  left  London  July  30, 
with  a  passport  given  him  under  the  name  of  Robin- 
son. He  landed  at  Rotterdam,  and  afterwards  went 
up  the  Rhine  in  the  ordinary  steamboat  as  far  as 
Mannheim.  From  there  he  went  by  way  of  Hechin- 
gen  to  Sigmaringen,  where  he  arrived  the  4th.  He 
made  a  call  on  Madame  the  Princesse  von  Hohen- 
zollern-Sigmaringen,  the  niece  of  Murat.  She  is  the 
only  person  with  whom  he  spoke  at  Sigmaringen, 
and  she  says  she  found  him  very  much  cast  down 
and  disgusted  with  the  results  of  his  foolish  enter- 
prise." 

The  Princesse  von  Hohenzollern  was  mistaken. 
What  depressed  Louis  Napoleon  was  not  his  failure 
at  Strasburg,  but  the  poignant  anxiety  caused  him 
by  his  mother's  ill  health.  August  4,  at  ten  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  he  arrived  at  Arenenberg  and  threw 
himself  into  the  arms  of  this  beloved  mother. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  DEATH  OF  QUEEN  HORTBNSE 

fTTHE  Duchesse  de  Saint-Leu,  as  Queen  Hortense 
had  been  called  since  the  downfall  of  the  Em- 
pire, was  awaiting  her  son  with  the  keenest  impa- 
tience. Her  health  had  been  seriously  affected  for 
several  months,  and  the  doctors,  although  they  did 
not  tell  her  so,  agreed  in  considering  her  condition 
hopeless.  A  very  dangerous  operation  had  been  con- 
templated in  the  spring,  and  she  wrote  to  her  son, 
April  3,  1837 :  "  My  dear  Son :  They  say  I  must  sub- 
mit to  a  necessary  operation.  If  it  is  not  successful, 
I  send  you  my  blessing  by  this  letter.  We  shall  meet 
again,  shall  we  not,  in  a  better  world,  where  you 
will  put  off  coming  to  rejoin  me  as  long  as  possible ; 
believe,  too,  that  in  quitting  this  one  I  regret  noth- 
ing but  you,  but  your  dear  affection,  which  alone  has 
made  me  find  here  any  charm.  It  will  be  a  conso- 
lation for  you,  my  dear,  to  think  that  your  cares  have 
rendered  your  mother  as  happy  as  it  was  possible  for 
her  to  be. 

"Believe  that  one  has  always  a  clear-sighted  and 
benevolent  view  of  what  one  leaves  here  below ;  but 
most  surely  that  we  shall  meet  again.  Believe  this 
sweet  idea ;  it  is  too  necessary  not  to  be  true.     That 

187 


188  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

good  Arese,  I  give  him  my  blessing  also,  as  to  a 
son.  I  press  you  to  my  heart,  my  dear.  I  am  very 
calm,  very  resigned,  and  I  still  hope  we  shall  see  each 
other  again  in  this  world.  May  the  will  of  God  be 
done.     Your  loving  mother,  Hortense." 

This  letter  was  not  sent,  as  the  operation  was  not 
performed.  Despairing  of  a  cure,  the  doctors  con- 
cluded to  spare  the  invalid  any  useless  suffering. 
The  Queen  wrote  to  her  son,  April  11 :  "  My  dear 
child,  I  am  going  to  tell  you  myself  how  I  am.  I 
am  glad  that  they  have  given  up  the  idea  of  an 
operation,  for  it  would  have  been  to  run  too  many 
risks."  From  that  time  her  condition  continued  to 
grow  worse,  and  her  son  sorrowfully  wondered 
whether  God  would  accord  him  the  grace  of  seeing 
her  alive.  With  what  emotion  he  remounted  the 
hill  of  Arenenberg  on  the  evening  of  August  4, 
1837,  which  he  had  left  on  the  25th  of  the  preced- 
ing October  for  his  fatal  expedition  to  Strasburg. 
On  that  day,  pretending  he  was  going  on  a  hunting 
party,  he  had  quitted  his  mother,  who  had  not  the 
least  suspicion  of  the  audacious  enterprise  that  he 
was  risking.  His  mind  was  then  full  of  hopeful 
illusions;  and,  with  the  naivete'  of  a  young  man 
and  the  confidence  of  an  illuminate,  he  fancied  that 
within  a  few  months  his  mother  would  meet  him 
at  the  Tuileries,  the  triumphant  master  of  France. 
And  now  behold  him  returning  to  Arenenberg  de- 
feated, proscribed,  humiliated,  jeered  at  by  all  the 
world,  and  abandoned,  almost  disowned,  by  nearly 


THE  DEATH  OF  QUEEN  HORTENSE  189 

every  member  of  his  family.  But  his  mother  still 
was  left  him.  The  more  unfortunate  she  knew  him 
to  be,  the  more  she  loved  him.  She  had  vowed  never 
to  say  a  word  calculated  to  sadden  or  discourage 
him,  but  rather  to  elevate  him  in  his  own  eyes  and 
strengthen  that  confidence  in  himself  and  his  star 
which  in  spite  of  his  disillusions  he  still  preserved. 
Of  all  the  proofs  of  maternal  love  which  he  had 
received,  this  must  have  touched  him  most.  His 
heart  beat  fast  when  he  caught  sight  of  Switzerland, 
his  second  country.  He  thanked  Providence  on 
finding  himself  once  more  on  that  hospitable  soil. 
Once  more  he  was  to  see  his  mother,  but  alas !  to 
see  her  altered,  ill,  on  the  verge  of  the  tomb ;  and  his 
joy  was  blended  with  an  immense  sadness.  One  can 
imagine  with  what  effusion  the  son  and  the  mother 
fell  into  each  other's  arms. 

At  Arenenberg  the  Prince  found  three  faithful 
adherents  who  had  participated  in  the  Strasburg 
affair,  and  been  acquitted  by  the  jury  of  Alsace,  — 
MM.  de  Quenelles,  Parquin,  and  de  Gricourt.  M. 
Arese,  Doctor  Conneau,  M.  and  Madame  Vieillard 
were  also  the  guests  of  Queen  Hortense.  Courtiers 
of  exile  and  misfortune,  all  of  them  manifested  an 
absolute  fidelity  to  her  and  to  her  son. 

Louis  Napoleon  was  closely  watched  by  the  French 
Government.  The  representatives  of  Louis  Philippe 
in  Switzerland  and  the  grand-duchy  of  Baden  re- 
ceived orders  to  neglect  no  means  of  ascertaining 
his  least  proceedings. 


190  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

The  Grand-duchess  Stephanie  of  Baden,  who  was 
a  Beauharnais,  had  a  strong  affection  for  the  Prince, 
and  showed  great  interest  in  him.  But  that  very 
fact  excited  the  suspicion  of  the  powers,  and  she 
could  not  prevent  the  territory  of  the  grand-duchy 
from  being  interdicted  to  the  Prince.  The  Grand- 
duke's  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  wrote  to  the 
Minister  of  France,  September  22:  "I  have  the  sat- 
isfaction of  informing  you  that  the  director  of  the 
Constance  club  has  just  notified  Louis  Bonaparte 
that  under  existing  circumstances  he  can  no  longer 
be  permitted  to  sojourn  in  the  grand-duchy  of  Baden, 
especially  at  Constance,  and  that  if  he  does  not  con- 
form to  this  decision,  he  must  expect  ulterior  meas- 
ures, and  attribute  solely  to  himself  the  disagreeable 
consequences  that  may  result." 

Louis  Napoleon  was  an  outlaw.  The  refuge  af- 
forded him  in  Switzerland  was  soon  to  be  contested, 
and  he  well  knew  that  as  soon  as  his  mother  should 
breathe  her  last,  French  diplomacy  would  do  its 
utmost  to  drive  him  from  his  second  country. 

Queen  Hortense  had  but  a  few  more  days  to  live. 
In  September,  when  heavy  rains  had  been  succeeded 
by  fine  weather,  a  slight  amelioration  took  place  in 
her  condition,  and  it  became  possible  for  her  to  spend 
two  hours  daily  in  the  garden.  But  the  skies  soon 
clouded  over.  The  equinoctial  winds  began  to  blow. 
The  Queen  suffered  much,  but  always  without  com- 
plaining. M.  Vieillard  wrote,  on  September  15: 
"Nothing  can  give  an  idea  of  such  angelic  gentle- 


THE  DEATH  OF  QUEEN  HORTENSE         191 

ness  and  patience.  She  takes  absolutely  nothing  but 
a  few  grapes  and  a  little  wine  and  water.  Ah  !  well, 
when  any  one  asks  her  how  she  is,  she  replies :  '  Not 
badly ;  I  am  improving.'  And  she  often  has  scarcely 
strength  enough  to  say  it."  And  on  October  2: 
"  The  Queen  is  extremely  ill ;  by  to-morrow,  prob- 
ably, this  excellent  woman  will  be  dead.  .  .  .  She 
utters  none  but  gentle  and  kindly  words.  .  .  .  Her 
poor  son  never  leaves  her  bedside.  The  sorrow  of 
the  Prince  is  profound,  but  calm  and  simple,  like 
everything  else  about  him,  for  he  has  no  affec- 
tations." 

Even  on  her  deathbed  Queen  Hortense  retained 
the  charm  and  attractiveness  of  which  she  had  pos- 
sessed the  secret  all  her  life.  She  did  not  recognize 
her  own  condition  until  within  a  few  hours  of  her 
death,  and  then,  without  betraying  either  fear  or 
regret,  she  bade  all  her  friends  the  most  affecting 
farewells.  In  the  night  of  October  4-5,  she  called 
her  son,  gave  him  her  blessing,  and  tenderly  em- 
braced him.  Then  she  expressed  her  satisfaction 
with  his  private  conduct,  and  all  her  maternal  love. 
Seeing  his  tears,  she  recommended  him  to  be  calm 
and  courageous.  Afterwards,  in  broken  words,  she 
dwelt  upon  her  affection  for  her  countrymen,  whom 
she  described  as  ingrates.  She  spoke  of  her  suffer- 
ings in  1815,  when  her  country  was  invaded,  and  of 
the  harshness  with  which  the  Government  had  sent 
her  out  of  France  when  she  went  thither  in  1836  to 
ask  pardon  for  her  son.     Towards  four  o'clock  in  the 


192  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

morning  she  sent  for  her  friends  and  attendants  : 
"Are  you  all  there?"  she  asked,  and  when  they 
had  replied  yes,  she  resumed:  "Adieu!  adieu,  my 
friends!"  She  asked  Doctor  Conneau  to  promise 
her  that  he  would  never  quit  Louis  Napoleon,  and 
with  what  fervent  loyalty  the  doctor  kept  his  promise 
is  well  known.  In  a  dying  voice  the  Queen  mur- 
mured these  words:  "My  friends,  pray  for  me.  I 
have  never  done  harm  to  any  one,  and  I  hope  that 
God  will  have  mercy  on  me.  Adieu,  Louis ! "  Her 
son  threw  himself  into  her  arms.  She  pressed  him 
to  her  heart,  and  once  more  cried :  "  Adieu !  adieu ! " 
Then  she  fell  back  exhausted,  her  features  assumed 
an  angelic  serenity,  and  her  eyelids  closed.  Louis 
Napoleon  bent  over  her,  and  in  a  voice  he  vainly 
tried  to  control,  said  to  her :  "  Mother,  do  you  recog- 
nize me  ?  It  is  your  son,  your  Louis,  mother ! " 
The  dying  woman  made  a  last  effort  to  speak  and 
to  open  her  eyes,  but  her  lips  were  already  cold,  and 
her  paralyzed  eyelids  could  respond  to  her  son's  cry 
only  by  an  imperceptible  movement.  An  instant 
later  she  rendered  her  last  sigh.  It  was  a  quarter 
past  five  in  the  morning.  Her  agony  had  lasted  five 
hours. 

A  Swiss  journal,  the  Helvetia,  published  these 
lines:  "One  must  have  witnessed  an  equally  heart- 
rending scene  to  realize  how  horrible  it  was  to  see 
Queen  Hortense,  once  crowned  with  so  much  honor 
and  respect,  dying  to-day  in  exile,  surrounded  by  a 
small  number  of  friends,  not  one  of  whom  had  shared 


THE  DEATH  OF  QUEEN  HORTENSE         193 

her  happy  days,  and  expiring  in  the  arms  of  a  son 
whom  she  leaves  without  a  country  or  support." 

All  the  inhabitants  of  the  chateau  of  Arenenberg 
and  the  neighborhood  considered  Queen  Hortense  as 
their  sovereign.  Her  death  excited  universal  regrets. 
Her  funeral  took  place  October  11,  in  the  church  of 
the  village  of  Ermatingen.  An  immense  crowd  was 
present.  From  early  morning ,  at  Constance  all  pro- 
curable horses  and  vehicles  had  been  put  in  requisi- 
tion. Barks  crowded  with  people  furrowed  the 
lake,  although  the  weather  was  bad.  The  Schaff- 
hausen  road  was  thronged,  as  well  as  those  which 
terminate  at  Ermatingen.  The  coffin,  at  first  exposed 
in  the  chapel  of  the  chateau,  was  borne  on  the  shoul- 
ders of  eight  men  to  the  church  of  Ermatingen. 
Louis  Napoleon  and  Comte  Tascher  de  la  Pagerie, 
who  had  come  from  Munich,  walked  behind  it.  The 
clergy  of  the  parish  were  followed  by  Protestant 
ministers,  a  deputation  from  the  federal  Diet,  and  all 
the  inhabitants  of  the  region.  It  was  painful  to  see 
the  afflicted  son,  although  he  preserved  all  his  dignity 
of  demeanor  and  sufficient  self-control  of  himself  to 
restrain  his  sobs.  The  ceremony  was  even  more 
affecting  than  if  it  had  taken  place  at  Notre-Dame 
de  Paris.  The  Queen  had  expressed  a  wish  to  be 
transported  to  France  and  placed  in  the  same  vault 
with  her  mother  at  Rueil.  While  awaiting  the  deci- 
sion of  the  French  Government  on  this  point,  the 
body  was  placed  in  the  chapel  of  the  chateau  of 
Arenenberg. 


194  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

The  death  of  Queen  Hortense  produced  an  impres- 
sion in  Fiance,  where  this  most  charming  woman 
had  left  many  friends,  even  amongst  the  bitterest  ad- 
versaries of  the  Empire.  Madame  Emile  de  Girardin 
wrote,  October  13,  in  her  Lettres  Parisiennes  in  the 
Presse :  "  To  be  a  woman  and  to  die  in  exile,  —  is 
not  that  a  horrible  destiny  ?  Poor  Queen  Hortense ! 
What  an  unhappy  existence  was  hers!  For  a  few 
brilliant  days,  how  many  stormy  ones !  For  a  little 
glory,  how  many  tears  !  And  yet  what  woman  better 
merited  happiness !  She  had  received  from  heaven 
all  the  gifts  which  make  life  cherished:  she  was 
beautiful,  gracious,  beloved;  she  possessed  the  charm, 
the  secret,  of  attraction,  an  involuntary  power  which 
the  throne  does  not  give,  and  which  exile  did  not 
take  away;  she  was  good  and  generous,  —  so  much 
for  the  enjoyments  of  the  heart ;  she  was  dreamy  and 
inspired,  —  so  much  for  the  delights  of  the  imagina- 
tion ;  she  was  adorned  with  every  talent, — so  much 
for  the  pleasures  of  pride.  What  fortunate  elements, 
what  treasures,  what  a  beautiful  lot,  nature  had  pre- 
pared for  her !  Alas !  a  crown  spoiled  all.  To  die 
far  from  France,  after  twenty  years  of  exile,  is  cruel. 
How  she  must  have  suffered!  Ah,  my  God!  her 
mother,  whose  fate  excites  so  much  pity,  had  a  less 
sorrowful  end ;  happily,  her  husband,  Emperor,  had 
repudiated  her  before  she  was  dethroned,  and  her 
tomb  is  here." 

The  will  of  Queen  Hortense  was  dated  at  Are- 
nenberg,  April  3,  1837.     She  forgot  none  who  was 


THE  DEATH  OF  QUEEN  HORTENSE  195 

dear  to  her.  She  bequeathed  souvenirs  to  her  nieces, 
Josephine,  princess  royal  of  Sweden ;  Amelie,  Em- 
press of  Brazil ;  Theodolinda,  princess  of  Leuchten- 
berg;  Mathilde,  daughter  of  King  Je*rdnie;  and  Marie, 
princess  of  Baden.  "I  leave,"  said  she,  "to  the  dow- 
ager princess  of  Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen,  who  has 
always  been  a  mother  and  friend  to  me,  two  jasper 
columns  given  me  by  Pope  Pius  VII.  .  .  .  To  my 
daughter-in-law,  the  Princesse  Charlotte  Napoleon, 
my  little  bracelets  with  the  portraits  of  my  two  sons, 
and  a  bouquet  of  diamonds.  ...  I  leave  to  Madame 
Re'camier,  in  remembrance  of  the  attention  and  inter- 
est she  displayed  towards  me  in  Rome  at  the  time  of 
one  of  my  most  painful  losses,  a  lace  veil.  I  leave 
to  the  Government  of  the  canton  of  Thurgau  a  gilded 
clock,  which  I  would  like  them  to  place  in  the  Great 
Council  hall.  May  this  souvenir  remind  them  of 
the  noble  courage  with  which  they  have  maintained 
a  tranquil  hospitality  towards  me  in  this  canton." 
Many  other  persons  received  gifts  or  sums  of  money. 

These  are  the  last  sentences  of  the  will :  "  May 
my  husband  give  a  thought  to  my  memory,  and  know 
that  my  greatest  regret  is  to  have  been  unable  to 
make  him  happy. 

"I  have  no  political  advice  to  give  my  son.  I 
know  that  lie  understands  his  position  and  all  the 
duties  imposed  upon  him  by  his  name. 

"  I  pardon  all  the  sovereigns  with  whom  I  have 
had  friendly  relations,  for  the  levity  of  their  judg- 
ments on  me. 


196  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

"I  pardon  all  ministers  and  charges  d'affaires  of 
the  powers  the  falsity  of  the  reports  they  have  con- 
stantly made  about  me. 

"I  pardon  certain  Frenchmen  to  whom  I  have 
been  able  to  be  useful  the  calumnies  with  which 
they  have  requited  me.  I  pardon  those  who  have 
credited  them  without  examination,  and  I  hope  to 
live  a  little  while  in  the  memory  of  my  dear  com- 
patriots. 

"  I  thank  those  who  surround  me,  as  well  as  my 
attendants,  for  their  careful  solicitude,  and  I  hope 
they  will  not  forget  me." 

In  this  testament,  the  dignity  of  the  queen  and 
the  kindness  of  the  woman  are  attested  by  the  bit- 
terness of  the  proscript  and  the  melancholy  of  the 
exile. 


CHAPTER   XIX 

A   YEAR   IN   SWITZERLAND 

f  I  THE  French  Government  hoped  that  Louis  Bona- 
parte  would  return  to  America  immediately- 
after  his  mother's  death,  and  it  was  claimed  that 
the  Queen  herself  had  so  advised  him.  This  rumor 
was  contradicted  by  the  Prince  in  the  following 
words  published  in  the  Helvetia  newspaper:  "It  is 
absolutely  false  that  Queen  Hortense,  with  her  last 
breath,  counselled  her  son  to  return  to  America." 
Louis  Napoleon  was  to  remain  in  Switzerland  an- 
other year. 

The  ambassador  of  France  at  Berne  was  at  this 
time  the  eldest  son  of  Marshal  Lannes,  the  Due  de 
Montebello,  who  was  afterwards  the  ambassador  of 
Napoleon  III.  at  Saint  Petersburg.  He  wrote,  Octo- 
ber 26,  to  Comte  Mole,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs : 
"Everything  seems  to  point  to  a  determination  on 
the  part  of  Prince  Louis  not  to  leave  Switzerland. 
The  Duchesse  de  Saint-Leu  was  building  a  chateau 
at  Gottlieben,  which  she  intended  for  her  son.  The 
work  has  gone  on  with  the  same  activity  since  her 
death.  Nevertheless  the  Prince  seems  to  be  expect- 
ing that  we  shall  take'  some  measures  to  banish  him 

197 


198  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

from  Switzerland.  The  prohibition  forbidding  him 
to  pass  the  Badenese  frontier  is  regarded  as  the 
prelude.  This  prohibition  does  not  seem  to  be  very 
rigorously  observed,  for  I  know  that  he  goes  to  Con- 
stance very  often.  The  goings  and  comings  of  the 
guests  at  Arenenberg  are  continual,  and  their  cor- 
respondence with  France  very  active."  December 
15,  1837 :  "  I  have  just  learned  this  instant  that 
Colonel  Vaudrey  is  at  Arenenberg.  No  one  seems 
at  all  disturbed  at  the  chateau,  and  they  consider 
it  certain  that  the  government  of  Thurgau  and  all 
radical  Switzerland  would  energetically  refuse  any 
demand  for  expulsion."  January  16,  1838:  "It  is 
the  radical  party  and  the  press  which  have  laid  hold 
of  the  affair.  Already  they  challenge  us  to  venture 
on  pushing  it  further.  In  this  condition  of  things, 
nothing  remains  but  for  the  King's  Government  to 
make  a  demand  couched  in  such  terms  that  it  will 
be  impossible  to  doubt  that  we  will  carry  it  out  to 
the  utmost;  and  in  that  case  we  think  we  can 
answer  for  its  success."  January  19,  1838:  "The 
Swiss  press  expresses  itself  concerning  Prince  Louis 
as  if  the  Strasburg  affair  had  not  occurred,  and  in- 
dignantly attacks  the  French  Government  for  mali- 
ciously troubling  this  Siviss  citizen,  this  burgess  of 
Thurgau  in  his  solitude." 

The  July  monarchy  entertained  anxieties  concern- 
ing Louis  Napoleon  which  the  future  has  justified, 
and  kept  a  watchful  eye  on  his  least  proceedings. 
The  Due  de  Montebello  wrote  again  to  Comte  Mole, 


A   YEAR  IN  SWITZERLAND  199 

January  26,  1838 :  "  Young  Bonaparte  has  left  Are- 
nenberg  to  establish  himself  at  the  chateau  of  Gott- 
lieben,  which  was  built  by  the  Duchesse  de  Saint- 
Leu,  and  which  he  has  just  completed  and  furnished 
with  care.  It  seems  certain  that  he  has  purchased 
Wolfsberg,  Parquin's  estate.  He  has  just  bought 
eighty  thousand  francs'  worth  of  silverware,  dishes, 
etc.  The  reunion  of  his  accomplices  is  now  com- 
plete. Persigny  is  among  them.  It  even  appears 
that  he  has  been  there  for  a  long  time,  but  has  taken 
precautions  to  prevent  his  presence  from  becoming 
known." 

When  the  Prince  went  to  install  himself  at  Gott- 
lieben,  the  people  of  the  neighborhood  gave  him  a 
reception  which  suggested  the  following  reflections 
to  the  ambassador  of  King  Louis  Philippe  (despatch 
to  Comte  Mole',  February  8,  1838):  "The  radical 
journals  report  that  when  Louis  Bonaparte  went  to 
take  possession  of  his  new  residence  of  Gottlieben, 
he  found  a  triumphal  arch  ereoted  on  the  road  he 
had  to  pass  over,  and  that  the  population  received 
him  with  cries  of  Long  live  Napoleon!  They  make 
a  great  fuss  over  these  honors  paid  to  a  man  who, 
say  they,  has  shown  himself  so  ivorthy  of  the  great 
name  he  bears  that  France  did  not  dare  to  bring  him 
to  an  open  trial,  but  preferred  to  cover  its  weakness 
with  the  mantle  of  clemency.  If  I  repeat  to  you  in 
this  way,  Count,  the  language  of  the  journals,  it  is 
because  they  have  more  importance  here  than  else- 
where, on  account  of  their  being  nearly  always  the 


200  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

organs  of  the  men  who  direct  the  cantonal  govern- 
ments." 

King  Louis  tried  in  vain  to  induce  his  son  to  re- 
nounce his  dreams  of  ambition  and  glory.  In  vain 
he  wrote  to  him :  "  I  conjure  you  hereafter  to  keep 
your  mind  at  rest,  and  to  make  use  of  those  eminent 
qualities  with  which  Heaven  has  endowed  you,  not  to 
pursue  chimeras,  but  to  seek  in  life  only  what  is  posi- 
tive." In  vain  the  old  King,  disillusioned  as  to  all 
things,  appealed  to  religion  and  philosophy  in  order 
to  recall  to  prudence  an  ardent  and  impetuous  young 
man.  "  For  my  part,"  he  added,  "  when  I  saw  myself 
abandoned  by  all  things  and  all  men,  I  was  unhappy 
and  almost  despairing  up  to  the  moment  when  I  re- 
flected that  in  spite  of  this  absolute  denudation,  one 
refuge  yet  remained  to  me ;  and  that  refuge  was  God. 
In  fact,  what  is  there  to  fear  when  one  can  unite  him- 
self to  so  powerful  a  support  ?  I  urge  you  then  to  do 
as  I  did,  if  your  misfortunes  and  your  premature  ex- 
perience have  sufficiently  unsealed  your  eyes.  Cor- 
dially relinquish  politics  and  what  are  called  the 
great  affairs  of  the  world  to  those  who  are  obliged 
to  concern  themselves  therewith,  or  who  are  so  blind 
as  to  seek  them,  and  try  to  extract  some  real  enjoy- 
ment from  this  brief  existence.  But  be  sure  that 
the  greater  part,  I  will  even  say  nearly  all,  of  the 
enjoyments  which  men  generally  seek  are  false  and 
deceptive."  Rarely  does  an  old  pilot,  who  has  retired 
forever  from  the  shore,  succeed  in  discouraging  a 
young  navigator  who  is  impatient  to  brave  the  tempest. 


A    YEAR  IN   SWITZERLAND  201 

Louis  Napoleon  did  all  he  could  to  render  himself 
popular  in  Switzerland.  Nearly  every  peasant  in 
Thurgau  had  his  portrait.  May  20,  1838,  he  was 
present  at  a  military  dinner  given  in  his  honor  in  a 
tavern  at  Kreuzlingen  by  forty  Swiss  officers.  June 
23,  the  annual  meeting  of  the  sharpshooters  of  the 
canton  took  place  at  Dissenhofen,  and  the  Prince  was 
nominated  president.  On  that  occasion  he  made  a 
speech  in  German  which  ran  as  follows :  "  Marksmen 
and  friends,  it  is  my  duty  to  express  my  gratitude  to 
you  for  nominating  me  as  president  of  our  associ- 
ation. Some  months  have  elapsed  since  the  Swiss 
people  were  requested  to  expel  one  of  their  citizens, 
but  they  responded :  '  We  keep  him  ! '  [All  the  mem- 
bers of  the  assembly  shouted :  "  Yes  !  yes !  we  keep 
him ! "]  Hence  I  have  never  feared  being  deserted  by 
my  fellow-citizens.  For  I  place  entire  confidence  in 
the  people's  sense  of  justice,  and  truly,  I  have  not 
deluded  myself,  since  instead  of  banishing  me,  the 
men  of  Thurgau  nominated  me  as  a  member  of  their 
Great  Council.  This  distinction  has  keenly  affected 
me,  but  I  feel  unable  to  accept  it,  taking  into  con- 
sideration the  interests  of  the  country  which  protects 
me.  A  year  ago  I  resolved  to  devote  myself  to  a 
great  cause,  and  my  devotion  was  looked  upon  as  a 
mean  and  personal  ambition.  If  I  had  entered  a 
political  assembly  of  Switzerland,  the  same  fate  would 
have  befallen  me  ;  my  words  would  have  been  misin- 
terpreted, my  intentions  misunderstood,  and  conse- 
quently  I  should  have  found  myself  incapable  of 


202  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

being  of  use  to  you,  and  perhaps  have  drawn  the  most 
serious  difficulties  upon  your  canton.  Hence  it  was 
my  duty  to  refuse  this  dignity.  I  hope,  however, 
that  the  citizens  of  Dissenhofen  will  not  be  the  less 
friendly  to  me  on  that  account,  for  I  wish  them  to 
understand  how  highly  I  prize  their  esteem.  They 
render  homage  to  misfortune  rather  than  to  power. 
They  are  fearless  and  independent ;  two  fine  qualities 
for  a  free  people." 

The  federal  shooting-match  was  about  to  open 
at  Saint-Gall.  The  Prince  sent  the  directors  a 
fowling-piece  inlaid  with  gold  and  silver  as  a  prize 
for  the  winner  of  what  was  called  the  target  of 
patriotism.  July  3,  1838,  Louis  Napoleon  made  his 
formal  entry  at  the  federal  shooting-match  at  the 
head  of  the  Thurgau  carbineers.  On  the  8th  he 
returned  to  Gottlieben. 

At  this  very  time  Paris  was  occupied  with  one 
of  the  Prince's  accomplices  in  the  Strasburg  affair, 
—  M.  Armand  Laity.  This  former  officer  of  artillery 
had  published  a  brochure  entitled  :  Relation  Mstorique 
des  4vSnements  du  30  Octobre,  1836,  in  the  produc- 
tion of  which  Louis  Napoleon  had  doubtless  collabo- 
rated, and  which  was  a  fervid  vindication  of  the 
abortive  attempt.  The  Government  was  as  excited 
by  this  publication  as  if  it  were  a  real  danger.  June 
21,  1838,  the  author  was  arrested  and  the  brochure 
seized.  The  28th,  the  Court  of  Peers,  assembled 
in  the  council  chamber,  found  an  indictment  against 
M.  Laity,  accused  of  an  attack  on  the  security  of 


A   TEAR  IN  SWITZERLAND  203 

the  State.  July  10,  he  was  condemned  to  five  years' 
imprisonment  and  a  fine  of  ten  thousand  francs.  All 
the  opposition  journals  found  fault  with  this  sentence. 
The  National  said:  "By  a  confusion  of  things  and 
principles,  which  even  the  Restoration  did  not  vent- 
ure to  make  in  more  serious  circumstances,  M. 
Laity's  brochure  has  been  construed  into  an  attack. 
All  the  journals  of  the  day  protest  against  this 
sentence."  July  2,  Louis  Napoleon  sent  his  former 
accomplice  a  letter  in  which  he  said:  "I  am  sure 
that  with  your  noble  character  you  will  suffer  with 
resignation  for  a  popular  cause.  They  will  ask  you 
where  the  Napoleonic  party  is.  Answer  that  the 
party  is  nowhere,  and  the  cause  everywhere.  The 
party  is  nowhere  because  our  friends  are  not  enlisted, 
but  the  cause  has  adherents  everywhere,  from  the 
artisan's  workshop  to  the  King's  council  room,  from 
the  soldier's  barrack  to  the  marshal's  palace.  .  .  . 
Say  that  in  authorizing  you  to  make  your  publica- 
tion, my  object  was  neither  to  disturb  the  tranquillity 
of  France  nor  to  re-kindle  half-extinct  passions,  but 
to  show  myself  to  my  fellow-citizens  as  I  am,  and 
not  as  I  have  been  painted  by  a  selfish  hatred.  But 
if  the  parties  some  day  overthrow  the  existing  power 
(the  example  of  the  last  half-century  permits  the 
supposition),  and  if,  habituated  as  they  have  been 
for  twenty-three  years  to  despise  authority,  they 
sap  all  the  foundations  of  the  social  edifice,  then 
perhaps  the  name  of  Napoleon  would  be  an  anchor 
of  safety  for  all  that  is  generous  and  truly  patriotic 


204  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

in  France.  It  is  with  this  motive  that  I  maintain 
that  the  honor  of  the  eagle  of  October  30  remains 
intact,  in  spite  of  its  defeat,  and  that  men  should 
not  take  the  nephew  of  the  Emperor  for  an  ordinary 
adventurer." 

The  French  Government  was  not  satisfied  with 
having  M.  Laity  condemned  by  the  Chamber  of 
Peers.  It  officially  demanded  from  Switzerland  the 
expulsion  of  Louis  Napoleon.  July  26,  Comte  Mole 
wrote  to  the  Due  de  Montebello:  "The  King  has 
exhausted  his  clemency  and  kindness  toward  Louis 
Bonaparte.  Instead  of  bringing  him  to  trial  after  the 
Strasburg  attempt,  he  sent  him  to  America  through 
respect  for  the  name  he  bears.  On  learning  of  his 
return  to  Arenenberg,  the  King  dwelt  upon  the 
thought  of  a  dying  mother  towards  whom  her  son 
wished  to  perforin  the  last  duties.  Finally,  when 
this  son  asked  France  to  receive  the  remains  of  his 
mother,  the  King  gave  this  permission.  From  that 
moment,  Louis  Bonaparte  has  not  ceased  to  brag 
about  his  culpable  schemes  and  his  past  attempts. 
His  whole  conduct  proves  his  continual  efforts  to 
pick  up  their  broken  threads.  Henceforward  the 
King  must  put  an  end  to  a  generosity  which  has  no 
apparent  effect  but  to  encourage  the  audacity  and 
folly  of  the  very  persons  it  has  spared.  These  con- 
siderations, Duke,  are  of  a  sort  to  appeal  to  Vorort's 
mind,  and  convince  all  the  honest  inhabitants  of 
Helvetia.  On  receipt  of  this  despatch,  you  will 
have  the  goodness  to  bring  its  contents  to  the  cog- 


A    YEAR  IN  SWITZERLAND  205 

nizance  of  Vorort  and  remit  to  him  the  annexed 
note."  This  note,  dated  August  2,  demanded  the 
expulsion  of  the  Prince. 

M.  Thirria,  in  his  remarkable  work,  Napoleon  III. 
—  Avant  V Empire,  has  summed  up  very  well  the 
phases  of  the  ensuing  debate  between  the  French 
and  Swiss  governments.  Louis  Napoleon  had  re- 
ceived, in  1832,  the  right  of  honorary  citizenship  in 
the  canton  of  Thurgau.  The  Swiss  regarded  him 
as  their  fellow-citizen.  King  Louis  Philippe's  Gov- 
ernment, on  the  other  hand,  maintained  that  Article 
25  of  the  constitution  of  the  canton  of  Thurgau 
provided  that  a  foreigner  cannot  become  a  Swiss 
citizen  until  after  renouncing  his  citizenship  in  the 
foreign  state,  and  that  Louis  Napoleon  had  never 
renounced  his  title  as  a  Frenchman.  The  Prince 
replied  (letter  of  August  20  to  the  Grand  Council 
of  Thurgau)  that  France  did  not  recognize  him  as 
such,  since  it  condemned  to  perpetual  banishment 
him  and  all  members  of  the  imperial  family.  Comte 
Mole,  the  King's  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  was 
irritated  by  such  a  response,  and  he  wrote  to  the 
Due  de  Montebello,  September  1 :  "  This  vague  and 
ambiguous  declaration  has  every  appearance  of  a 
subterfuge,  well  worthy  assuredly  of  the  man  whose 
conduct  after  the  event  of  Strasburg,  and  when  the 
King  had  just,  exhausted  in  his  regard  the  proof  of 
a  boundless  clemency,  makes  it  evident  that  he  is 
a  stranger  to  every  noble  sentiment,  every  generous 
inspiration."     The  Grand  Council  of  Thurgau  unani- 


206  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

mously  declared,  August  22,  that  the  demand  for 
expulsion  was  inadmissible.  September  3,  the  Diet 
decided  that  the  several  cantonal  councils  should  be 
consulted,  and  adjourned  the  solution  of  the  affair 
until  October. 

Exasperated  by  this  attitude  of  the  Swiss,  the 
French  Government  assembled  an  army  corps  on 
the  frontier,  whose  leader,  General  Aymard,  ad- 
dressed the  following  order  of  the  day  to  his  troops, 
September  3 :  "  Our  turbulent  neighbors  will  soon 
perceive,  though  perhaps  too  late,  that  instead  of 
declamations  and  insults  it  would  have  been  better 
for  them  to  satisfy  the  just  demands  of  France." 
Three  days  before,  Louis  Napoleon  had  addressed 
a  letter  to  M.  Anderwers,  president  of  the  Petty 
Council  of  Thurgau,  in  which  he  said:  "Switzer- 
land demonstrated  a  month  ago  by  her  energetic 
protestations,  and  now  by  the  decisions  of  the  Grand 
Councils  which  have  thus  far  assembled,  that  she 
was  ready  to  make  the  greatest  sacrifices  in  order 
to  maintain  her  dignity  and  her  rights.  She  has 
known  how  to  do  her  duty  as  an  independent  na- 
tion ;  I  shall  know  how  to  do  mine  and  to  remain 
faithful  to  the  path  of  honor.  I  may  be  persecuted, 
but  never  disgraced. 

"The  French  Government  having  declared  that 
the  refusal  of  the  Diet  to  comply  with  its  demand 
would  be  the  signal  for  a  conflagration  of  which 
Switzerland  might  be  the  victim,  nothing  remains 
but  for  me  to  quit  a  country  where  my  presence  is 


A   YEAR  IN  SWITZERLAND  207 

the  subject  of  such  unjust  pretensions,  and  where  it 
might  also  be  the  pretext  for  great  disasters. 

"I  pray  you,  therefore,  Mr.  Landamann,  to 
announce  to  the  federal  director  that  I  will  go  as 
soon  as  I  have  obtained  from  the  different  powers 
the  passports  I  require  in  order  to  reach  a  place 
where  I  may  find  a  secure  asylum." 

The  letter  terminated  thus:  "I  hope  that  this 
separation  may  not  be  eternal,  and  that  a  day  will 
come  when  I  may,  without  compromising  the  inter- 
ests of  two  nations  which  ought  to  remain  united, 
regain  the  asylum  where  twenty  years  of  sojourn 
and  acquired  rights  had  created  for  me  a  second 
country.  Be,  Mr.  Landamann,  the  interpreter  of 
my  sentiments  of  gratitude  toward  the  Councils. 
Only  the  thought  of  averting  troubles  from  Swit- 
zerland could  alleviate  the  regrets  I  experience  in 
quitting  her." 

Paris  followed  the  phases  of  this  curious  affair 
with  great  attention.  All  the  opposition  journals 
agreed  in  blaming  the  Government  of  King  Louis 
Philippe.  The  Courrier-Franpais  said :  "  Up  to  now 
the  public  considered  Prince  Louis  a  madman  ;  the 
Ministry  have  almost  made  a  hero  of  him."  The 
Slide:  "Our  ministers  have  succeeded  in  covering 
themselves  with  ridicule  by  offering  young  Bona- 
parte an  opportunity  to  interest  France  in  his  des- 
tiny which  he  has  seized  with  equal  generosity  and 
seemliness."  The  Gazette  de  France,  the  legitimist 
sheet :    "  Honor  to  the  federal  Diet,  to  the  Grand 


208  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Council  of  Thurgau!  Honor  to  M.  Kern,  who  has 
at  last  brought  conspicuously  before  the  eyes  of 
kings  and  peoples  the  fine  motto  of  the  Dugues- 
clins,  the  Bayards,  the  Bonchamps,  the  Talmonts, 
and  the  La  Roche jacqueleins:  Do  what  you  ought, 
no  matter  what  may  happen!  Honor  to  the  brave 
and  generous  Helvetic  nation  which  proclaims  the 
authority  of  duty  and  the  sacred  rights  of  hos- 
pitality ! " 

The  French  Government  awaited  the  departure  of 
the  Prince  with  extreme  impatience.  The  Due  de 
Montebello  wrote  to  Comte  Mole",  October  10 :  "  Ac- 
cording to  my  private  advices,  Louis  Napoleon  does 
not  intend  to  leave  Switzerland  before  the  25th.  I 
consider  it  indispensable,  therefore,  in  order  to  obtain 
his  prompt  departure,  that  the  military  dispositions 
be  maintained.  The  expense  which  each  day's  delay 
entails  on  Switzerland  will  exert  the  most  powerful 
of  all  influences  on  public  opinion ;  and  it  is  well,  in 
the  interests  of  the  future,  that  Switzerland  should 
not  get  out  of  the  affair  without  its  costing  her 
something."  Comte  Mol6  replied,  October  13 :  "I 
charge  you  to  announce  to  President  du  Vorort  that 
our  troops  will  remain  in  their  positions  until  Louis 
Bonaparte  has  quitted  Switzerland."  The  French 
Government  was  finally  reassured.  A  passport  de- 
livered for  the  Prince  by  the  English  minister,  and 
visaed  by  the  ministers  of  Prussia  and  Baden  and  the 
consul  of  Holland,  was  sent  by  the  Directory  to  the 
Government  of   Thurgau,  October  10.      Four  days 


A    YEAR  IN  SWITZERLAND  209 

afterward,  Louis  Napoleon  left  Switzerland.  The 
Due  de  Montebello  forwarded  to  M.  Mole"  the  fol- 
lowing letter,  written  by  a  person  who  had  accom- 
panied the  Prince  as  far  as  Constance:  — 

"Constance,  October  14,  1838.  —  The  friends  of 
the  prince  met  to-day  at  Arenenberg  to  take  leave 
of  him.  There  were  about  thirty  of  them,  as  many 
from  Ermatingen  as  from  neighboring  places.  The 
Prince  had  wine  served,  made  a  short  speech  expres- 
sive of  his  hope  for  a  speedy  return,  and  entered  his 
carriage  about  two  o'clock.  We  were  in  eighteen  or 
twenty  little  calashes  which  escorted  him.  He  trav- 
elled with  two  carriages,  one  drawn  by  four  and  the 
other  by  two  horses.  He  was  alone  with  Persigny 
in  the  first  one,  and  the  second  was  occupied  by  his 
physician,  Dr.  Conneau,  his  valet  Charles,  and  two 
other  domestics.  Persigny  accompanied  him  to 
London.  All  the  afternoon  he  was  much  affected 
and  often  shed  tears.  At  five  minutes'  distance  from 
Constance  he  stopped  the  carriage  and  alighted, 
everybody  following  his  example.  All  his  escort 
gathered  around  him;  again  he  spoke  a  few  words 
of  thanks  and  hope  to  meet  again  soon,  shook  hands 
with  every  one  (there  were  about  forty  of  us),  got 
into  his  carriage  again,  and  went  on  alone  towards 
Constance,  where  M.  de  Bittendorf,  Minister  of  For- 
eign Affairs  of  Baden,  arrived  at  the  same  moment. 
They  did  not  speak  to  each  other." 

Reaching  Constance  at  three  o'clock,  the  Prince 
alighted  at  the  Eagle  Hotel,  where  he  remained  but 


210  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

a  short  time.  He  crossed  Germany,  then  Holland, 
and  embarked  at  Rotterdam  for  England.  Octo- 
ber 25,  he  was  in  London.  The  G-azette  de  France 
made  this  reflection :  "  We  should  be  glad  to  know 
what  •the  Government  gains  by  Prince  Louis  being 
in  England  instead  of  at  Arenenberg.  London  is 
nearer  Paris  than  Arenenberg."  And  in  the  Morn- 
ing Chronicle,  Lord  Palmerston's  organ,  one  could 
read :  "  One  thing  remains  to  be  seen.  Will  any 
one  address  to  Great  Britain  the  threatening  notes 
launched  against  the  Helvetic  cantons?  Should 
that  happen,  Lord  Melbourne's  answer  will  be 
prompt."  The  French  Government  had  not  solved 
the  question;   it  had  merely  displaced  it. 


CHAPTER  XX 

TWO  YEARS   IN  ENGLAND 

/^vOTOBER  26, 1838,  General  Comte  de  Se*bastiani, 
^^^  ambassador  of  France  in  England,  made  the 
following  announcement,  unaccompanied  by  any  com- 
ment, to  Cointe  Mole:  "Prince  Louis  Bonaparte 
arrived  in  London  yesterday.  He  is  stopping,  as 
he  did  before,  at  Fenton's  Hotel."  The  Prince  re- 
mained in  England  nearly  two  years,  leaving  only  to 
attempt  his  adventurous  Boulogne  expedition. 

Louis  Napoleon  was  by  nature  essentially  cosmo- 
politan. Speaking  Italian,  German,  and  English  as 
well  as  if  he  had  been  born  in  Italy,  Germany,  or 
England,  he  excelled  in  conforming  to  the  customs 
and  assimilating  the  characteristics  of  the  inhabitants 
of  every  country  to  which  the  vicissitudes  of  his 
exile  conducted  him.  In  the  Romagna,  in  1831,  he 
had  thought,  spoken,  and  acted  like  a  carbonari.  In 
the  German  cantons  of  Switzerland  he  had  shown 
himself  a  democrat,  a  beer-drinker,  a  federal  sharp- 
shooter, an  officer  of  the  Helvetic  artillery,  and  an 
honest  Thurgau  burgess.  In  England  he  was  to 
assume  the  manners,  sentiments,  and  language  of  a 
gentleman  who  was  at  once  a  student,  a  sportsman, 

211 


212  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

a  pleasure-seeker,  frequenting  fashionable  clubs  as 
well  as  libraries,  fond  of  horses,  races,  and  theatres, 
carrying  on  simultaneously,  as  many  English  states- 
men do,  the  most  contradictory  occupations,  and  dis- 
tinguishing himself  equally  in  the  exercises  of  the 
mind  and  those  of  the  body ;  he  was  attempting  to 
gain  the  peerage  of  London  as  he  had  won  the  in- 
habitants of  the  canton  of  Thurgau. 

The  Prince  installed  himself  in  Carlton  House, 
the  property  of  Lord  Cardigan,  between  St.  James's 
park  and  Regent  street,  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
United  Service,  Athenaeum,  and  Travellers'  clubs. 
He  lived  afterwards  at  Carlton  Gardens,  in  a  house 
belonging  to  Lord  Ripon.  The  drawing-room  was 
adorned  with  historic  souvenirs :  a  bust  of  Napoleon 
by  Canova ;  a  portrait  of  the  Empress  Josephine  by 
Guerin ;  another  of  Queen  Hortense ;  the  tricolored 
scarf  worn  by  General  Bonaparte  at  the  battle  of 
the  Pyramids;  the  coronation  ring  placed  on  the 
Emperor's  finger  by  Pius  VII.  during  the  corona- 
tion ceremony;  the  ring  which  Napoleon  put  upon 
Josephine's  finger  on  the  same  occasion ;  the  talisman 
of  Charlemagne,  found  in  the  tomb  of  the  great 
Carlovingian  emperor  and  given  to  Napoleon  by  the 
cathedral  clergy.  The  Prince  was  surrounded  by  a 
small  court,  comprising  Colonel  Vaudrey,  M.  de 
Persigny,  M.  Bouffet  de  Montauban,  formerly  a 
colonel  in  the  Colombian  army,  and  Dr.  Conneau. 
His  retinue  was  not  devoid  of  a  certain  luxury. 
The   imperial   eagle   figured   on   the   panels   of   his 


TWO   TEARS  IN  ENGLAND  213 

principal  carriage.  He  had  a  pair  of  draught  horses, 
a  horse  for  his  cab,  and  two  saddle  horses.  The 
Court  Circular,  the  Morning  Post,  and  the  Times 
gave  detailed  reports  of  his  ways  and  actions  in 
society.  He  did  not  go  to  Court,  nor  to  the  houses 
of  the  ministers,  but  he  was  in  constant  relations 
with  the  greatest  lords  and  ladies  in  England.  In 
1839  he  took  part  in  the  famous  tourney  organized 
by  Count  Eglinton.  The  Marine  Club  having  offered 
him  a  dinner,  he  said  to  his  hosts:  "I  do  not  speak, 
gentlemen,  of  your  military  triumphs,  for  all  your 
glorious  memories  are  to  me  a  cause  for  tears ;  but  I 
will  speak  with  pleasure  of  the  finer  and  more  last- 
ing glory  you  have  acquired  by  carrying  civilization 
to  a  thousand  barbarous  peoples  and  the  most  distant 
regions."  Thus  it  was  that  a  Bonaparte  found  means 
to  make  himself  agreeable  to  the  English. 

Under  his  dandy-like  appearance  Louis  Bonaparte 
cloaked  an  inveterate  conspirator.  The  French  em- 
bassy strongly  suspected  that  he  was  concocting 
some  new  enterprise,  but  did  not  feel  able  to  keep  an 
effective  watch  upon  him.  General  Sebastiani  wrote 
to  Comte  Mole,  February  10, 1839 :  "  Louis  Napoleon 
has  just  hired  Lord  Cardigan's  house  in  London.  I 
learn  from  various  quarters  that  his  partisans  moot 
and  cherish  illusions  there  which  he  is  only  too  well 
disposed  to  share.  I  have  more  than  once  already 
had  occasion  to  call  Your  Excellency's  attention  to 
the  impossibility  of  my  exercising  the  slightest  sur- 
veillance in  this  respect.     The  Minister  of  the  In- 


214  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

terior  will  doubtless  esteem  it  necessary  to  charge  a 
special  agent  from  this  department  with  the  affair." 
Some  days  after  the  fruitless  attempt  at  Strasburg 
the  Prince  had  owned,  when  examined  before  the 
commission  of  inquiry  of  the  Court  of  Peers 
(August  19,  1840),  that  he  had  been  conspiring  for 
a  certain  time.  "  It  is  only  about  a  year  or  a  year 
and  a  half  ago,"  said  the  accused,  "  that  I  began  to 
maintain  relations  in  France.  So  long  as  I  believed 
that  honor  forbade  me  to  undertake  anything  against 
the  Government,  I  remained  tranquil,  but  when  I  was 
persecuted  in  Switzerland  under  the  pretext  that  I 
was  conspiring,  I  began  to  occupy  myself  once  more 
with  my  former  projects." 

In  Paris,  the  emissaries  of  the  Prince  were  trying 
to  bring  him  into  relations  with  the  republicans. 
M.  Vieillard  wrote  to  him,  January  8,  1839 :  "  You 
doubtless  know,  Prince,  that  I  was  present,  some 
time  ago,  at  an  interview  with  several  leaders  of  the 
republican  party.  You  know  or  you  divine  the 
object  of  it.  It  was  a  question  of  getting  them  to 
accept  your  intervention,  and  of  demonstrating  to 
them  that  in  the  interests  of  the  country,  of  liberty 
and  equality,  it  was  useful  and  even  necessary  to 
have  an  indisputable  name  which,  taking  universal 
suffrage  by  storm,  as  one  might  say,  would  imme- 
diately get  rid,  by  that  very  fact,  of  the  fatal  co-oper- 
ation of  subordinate  ambitions  and  thus  avert  the 
dangers  of  anarchy ;  I  think  they  are  agreed  on  this 
point.    They  have  adopted  you,  but  on  one  condition ; 


TWO   TEARS  IN  ENGLAND  215 

namely,  that  you  shall  recognize  that  whatever  form 
of  government  is  established,  the  head  of  it  shall  be 
responsible." 

Louis  Napoleon  himself  made  a  long  plea  pro  domo 
sua,  by  publishing  in  London,  at  the  commencement 
of  1840,  a  work  he  had  composed  under  the  title  Les 
IdSes  NapoUoniennes.  The  author  considered  his 
book  as  the  gospel  of  the  democratic  empire,  as  the 
testament  of  Napoleon  L,  and  the  programme  of  the 
reign  of  Napoleon  III.  In  reading  it,  people  won- 
dered whether  it  were  the  dream  of  a  visionary  or 
the  work  of  a  politician.  A  touch  of  illuminism,  of 
mysticism,  in  its  thought  and  style,  reminded  one 
of  De  Lammenais'  Paroles  oVun  croyant.  In  the  eyes 
of  Louis  Napoleon,  Bonapartism  was  not  an  opinion, 
but  a  cult.  The  Emperor's  nephew  spoke  of  his 
uncle  as  if  he  were  a  supernatural  being.  "  Great 
men,"  said  he,  "  have  this  in  common  with  the  di- 
vinity, that  they  never  altogether  die.  Their  spirit 
survives  them,  and  the  Napoleonic  idea  has  sprung 
forth  from  the  tomb  of  Saint  Helena  just  as  the 
morality  of  the  Gospel  has  arisen  triumphant  in  spite 
of  the  death  on  Calvary.  The  political  faith,  like 
the  religious  faith,  has  had  its  martyrs ;  it  will  like- 
wise have  its  apostles  and  its  empire." 

According  to  Louis  Bonaparte,  the  Napoleonic 
idea  consisted  in  combining  the  rights  of  the  people 
with  the  principles  of  authority,  in  beholding  in 
France  none  but  brothers  easy  to  reconcile,  and  in 
the  different  nations  of  Europe  only  members  of  a 


216  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

single  great  family.  "It  levels  mountains,  crosses 
rivers,  facilitates  communications,  and  obliges  peo- 
ples to  give  each  other  the  hand.  It  employs  all 
arms  and  all  intelligences.  It  goes  into  cabins,  not 
with  sterile  declarations  of  the  Rights  of  Man,  but 
with  the  means  necessary  to  quench  the  thirst  of  the 
poor  man  and  appease  his  hunger,  and,  moreover, 
with  a  tale  of  glory  to  awaken  his  love  of  country. 
Humble  without  baseness,  it  knocks  at  every  door, 
receives  insults  without  hate  or  rancor,  and  never 
pauses  in  its  march  because  it  knows  that  the  light 
precedes  it  and  the  peoples  follow.  Desirous  above 
all  to  persuade  and  convince,  it  preaches  concord 
and  confidence  and  appeals  more  willingly  to  reason 
than  to  force.  But  if,  driven  to  extremes  by  too 
many  persecutions,  it  becomes  the  only  hope  of 
miserable  populations  and  the  last  refuge  of  the 
glory  and  honor  of  the  fatherland,  then,  resuming 
its  helmet  and  its  spear  and  ascending  the  country's 
altar,  it  will  say  to  the  people,  deceived  by  so  many 
ministers  and  orators,  what  Saint  Remigius  said  to 
the  haughty  Sicambrian  :  '  Tear  down  thy  false  gods 
and  thine  images  of  clay;  burn  what  thou  hast 
adored,  and  adore  what  thou  hast  burned.'  " 

The  work  at  times  assumed  the  lyric  tone.  The 
author  exclaimed:  "France  of  Henri  IV.,  of  Louis 
XIV.,  of  Carnot,  of  Napoleon,  thou  who  wert  always 
for  the  west  of  Europe  the  source  of  progress,  thou 
who  possessest  the  two  mainstays  of  empire,  the 
genius  of  the  arts  of  peace  and  the  genius  of  war, 


TWO   TEARS  IN  ENGLAND  217 

hast  thou  no  further  mission  to  fulfil?  Wilt  thou 
exhaust  thy  forces  and  thine  energy  in  ceaseless 
struggles  with  thy  children  ?  No ;  such  cannot  be 
thy  destiny.  Soon  the  day  will  come  when,  to  govern 
thee,  it  will  be  necessary  to  comprehend  that  it  is  thy 
r61e  to  put  thy  sword  of  Brennus  into  all  treaties  on 
behalf  of  civilization." 

The  programme  developed  in  the  IdSes  NapolSo- 
nienne8  was  summed  up  in  three  points :  alliance  be- 
tween the  Empire  and  democracy,  free  trade,  the 
principle  of  nationalities. 

This  was  the  conclusion :  "  Let  us  repeat  it  in 
concluding,  the  Napoleonic  idea  is  not  an  idea  of 
war,  but  a  social,  industrial,  commercial,  humanita- 
rian idea.  If  to  some  men  it  appears  always  sur- 
rounded by  the  lightning  of  combats,  it  is  because 
it  was,  in  fact,  too  long  enveloped  by  the  smoke 
of  cannon  and  the  cloud  of  battles.  But  now  the 
clouds  are  dispelled,  and  we  perceive  athwart  the 
glory  of  arms  a  civil  glory  more  durable  and  grand. 

"  May  the  spirit  of  the  Emperor  rest  then  in  peace. 
His  memory  will  wax  greater  every  day.  Each  wave 
that  breaks  against  the  rock  of  Saint  Helena  brings 
with  it  a  breath  of  Europe,  a  homage  rendered  to 
his  memory,  a  regret  to  his  ashes,  and  the  echo  of 
Longwood  repeated  above  his  coffin :  The  free  peoples 
labor  everywhere  to  re-commence  thy  work." 

A  few  days  after  the  IdSe*  NapolSonienne%^  there 
appeared  in  England  another  work,  unsigned,  but 
written  by  M.  de  Persigny,  and  entitled :  Lettres  de 


218  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Londres,  Visite  au  Prince  Louis.  Louis  Napoleon 
already  had  fanatics.  In  the  front  rank  of  them 
figured  M.  de  Persigny,  at  once  a  dreamer  and  a 
man  of  action,  with  the  manners  of  a  conspirator 
and  the  intuitions  of  a  seer.  Few  persons  have  com- 
bined in  the  same  degree  the  genius  of  initiative  and 
the  gift  of  prophecy.  The  Letters  from  London  was 
a  skilful  puff.  The  author  made  a  portrait  of  Louis 
Napoleon  which  was  equally  flattering  to  mind  and 
body.  He  waxed  enthusiastic  over  "the  imposing 
haughtiness  of  this  Roman  profile  whose  lines,  so 
pure  and  noble,  so  solemn  even,  are  like  the  signet 
of  great  destinies."  And  he  added:  "  What  especially 
excites  interest  is  that  indefinable  tinge  of  melancholy 
and  meditation  spread  over  his  whole  person  which 
reveals  the  noble  sorrows  of  the  exile.  The  sombre 
tints  of  his  physiognomy  indicate  an  energetic  nature ; 
his  daring  mien,  his  glance  at  once  keen  and  thought- 
ful, everything  about  him,  shows  one  of  those  excep- 
tional natures,  those  lofty  souls  which  are  nourished 
by  a  preoccupation  in  great  things,  and  which  alone 
are  able  to  accomplish  them.  All  men  who  have 
played  a  great  part  in  history  have  had  secret  and 
mysterious  personal  attractions  which  inspire  devo- 
tion, enchain  the  will,  and  fascinate  the  masses." 

The  propaganda  began  to  be  visible  simultaneously 
in  Paris  and  London.  The  prince  sold  the  chateau 
of  Arenenberg  in  order  to  subsidize,  in  1839,  two 
Parisian  journals :  the  Commerce,  directed  by  MM. 
Mocquard  and   Mauguin,  and   the    Capitole,  one  of 


TWO   TEARS  IN  ENGLAND  219 

whose  editors  was  M.  Paul  Merruan,  who,  under  the 
Second  Empire,  was  secretary  general  of  Baron  Hauss- 
mann  at  the  prefecture  of  the  Seine.  The  founder  of 
this  last  sheet  was  M.  de  Crouy-Chanel,  who  received 
one  hundred  and  forty  thousand  francs  from  the 
Prince,  a  very  considerable  sum  for  the  modest  fortune 
of  the  pretender,  but  not  enough  to  keep  the  jour- 
nal alive  more  than  six  months.  Two  Bonapartist 
clubs  were  established  in  Paris:  the  Cotillion  Club, 
to  which  belonged,  among  other  ladies,  Mesdemoi- 
selles  de  Salvage,  de  Faverolles,  Regnault  de  Saint- 
Jean  d'Angely,  de  Querelles,  Gordon ;  and  the  Old 
Soldiers'1  Club,  composed  of  General  de  Montholon, 
MM.  de  Vaudoncourt,  Voisin,  Laborde,  Bouffet  de 
Montaubon,  Dumoulin,  General  Piat,  etc. 

The  French  Embassy  at  London  did  not  watch 
the  intrigues  of  the  Prince.  M.  Guizot,  who  had 
replaced  General  S^bastiani  as  ambassador,  devoted 
himself  entirely  to  grand  diplomatic  speculations 
on  the  Eastern  question.  The  eminent  statesman 
thought  more  about  Mehemet  Ali  than  about  Louis 
Napoleon. 

Meanwhile,  all  France  was  exciting  itself  about 
the  approaching  return  of  the  Emperor's  remains. 
May  12,  1840,  Comte  de  Re*musat,  without  any  pre- 
vious notification  of  such  a  communication,  had  laid 
before  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  an  order  of  credit 
for  one  million,  in  order  to  bring  the  ashes  of 
Napoleon  from  Saint  Helena  to  Paris.  July  7,  the 
frigate  Belle-Poule,  under  command  of  one  of  Louis 


220  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Philippe's  sons,  Prince  de  Joinville,  had  sailed  for 
Saint  Helena.  Never  had  the  memory  of  the  hero  of 
Austerlitz  been  the  object  of  such  homage.  Never 
had  the  Napoleonic  legend,  propagated  by  the  author 
of  the  ITistoire  du  Consulat  et  de  V Empire,  M.  Thiers, 
then  president  of  the  ministerial  council,  provoked 
a  like  infatuation.  The  nephew  of  him  of  whom 
M.  Re*niusat  had  just  said,  "He  was  Emperor  and 
King,  he  was  the  legitimate  sovereign  of  our  coun- 
try," thought  the  hour  had  come  for  striking  a  new 
blow.  A  skilled  conspirator,  he  found  means  to 
conceal  his  proceedings,  not  merely  from  the  Em- 
bassy of  France,  but  also  from  the  English  Govern- 
ment. 

We  read  in  a  despatch  from  the  embassy  (August  7, 
1840) :  "  One  must  have  lived  in  England  a  long 
time  to  be  convinced  that  such  an  enterprise  as  that 
of  Louis  Napoleon  can  be  arranged  and  completed 
in  the  port  of  London  without  the  least  official 
knowledge  of  it  reaching  the  English  Government. 
That  is  the  truth,  however,  and  it  is  my  conviction 
that  Lord  Normanby,  I  will  not  say  upon  a  formal 
notice,  but  on  a  mere  suspicion,  would  not  have 
lost  a  moment  in  informing  the  French  Government 
through  its  embassy  at  London.  The  embassy  itself 
has  several  times  warned  the  King's  Government  of 
its  absolute  inability  to  exercise  surveillance  here 
over  the  plots  of  refugees  of  every  shade.  But  it 
believed  that  there  were  active  and  loyal  agents  in 
London  who  were  especially  charged  to  attach  them- 


TWO    YEARS  IN  ENGLAND  221 

selves  to  the  Prince.  One  only  of  these  agents  had 
put  himself  in  relations  with  the  embassy,  and  he 
transmitted  through  it  his  letters  to  the  Department 
of  the  Interior.  Yesterday  I  still  had  in  my  hand 
the  third  edition  of  the  Morning  Post,  announcing 
the  debarkation  at  Boulogne,  when  a  letter  from 
this  agent  was  sent  to  me  for  the  Minister  of  the 
Interior.  It  opened  with  these  words :  '  Prince  Louis 
has  given  up  all  manner  of  attempt  at  landing.' 
I  leave  Your  Excellency  to  judge  the  value  of  such 
information  as  we  could  extract  from  this  source, 
the  only  one  open  to  us."  The  Prince  had  hired 
from  the  Commercial  Company  of  Steam  Navigation, 
under  an  assumed  name,  the  boat  Edinburgh  Castle, 
under  the  pretext  of  an  excursion  along  the  coast  of 
Scotland.  August  4,  he  and  his  accomplices  em- 
barked on  this  vessel.  On  the  5th  they  were  before 
Boulogne. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

BOULOGNE 

A  LEXIS  DE  TOCQUEVILLE  has  written  in 
his  Souvenirs  apropos  of  Louis  Napoleon: 
"  One  may  say,  however,  that  it  was  his  folly  rather 
than  his  reason  which,  thanks  to  circumstances,  con- 
stituted his  success  and  his  power;  for  the  world  is 
a  curious  stage.  There  are  moments  when  the  worst 
plays  produced  upon  it  succeed  the  best."  It  is  cer- 
tain that  the  ill-concerted  scheme  of  Boulogne  was  a 
poor  performance,  and  that  its  failure  was  complete  ; 
but  perhaps,  without  this  sorry  adventure,  Louis 
Bonaparte  would  never  have  been  Napoleon  III. 

The  conspirator  of  Strasburg  and  Boulogne  was 
haunted  not  simply  by  visions  of  the  French  Empire, 
but  by  those  of  the  Roman  Empire  as  well.  He 
said  to  himself  that  Napoleon  had  been  a  Caesar,  and 
he  would  be  an  Augustus.  This  passage  from  Ver- 
tot's  Revolutions  romaines,  cited  by  M.  de  Persigny 
in  his  Lettres  de  Londres,  had  particularly  impressed 
him :  "  Caesar's  young  nephew  is  at  Apollonia,  on 
the  coast  of  Epirus,  where  he  is  finishing  his  studies 
and  exercises  and  shedding  abundant  tears  over  his 
uncle's  death.    Banished  far  from  Rome,  he  languishes 

222 


BOULOGNE  223 


a  prey  to  sadness  and  regrets;  but  his  ardent  soul 
longs  to  avenge  the  outraged  memory  of  his  uncle, 
and  presently  by  a  public  act  he  will  reveal  the  ob- 
ject of  his  ambition  to  the  world.  His  relations  and 
friends  entreat  him  to  remain  in  exile.  But  young 
Octavius  rejects  these  pusillanimous  counsels;  he 
declares  that  he  would  a  thousand  times  rather  die 
than  renounce  the  great  name  and  the  glory  of 
Caesar.  Condemned  by  iniquitous  laws,  he  does 
not  fear  to  brave  them  and  to  start  for  Rome.  One 
day  he  arrives  on  the  coast  of  Brindisi  and  lands 
near  the  little  town  of  Lupia,  without  other  escort 
than  his  servants  and  several  of  his  friends,  but 
sustained  by  the  great  name  of  Caesar,  which  alone 
will  presently  give  him  whole  legions  and  armies. 
And,  in  fact,  no  sooner  have  the  officers  and  soldiers 
of  Brindisi  learned  that  the  nephew  of  their  former 
general  is  near  their  walls  than  they  flock  out  to 
meet  him,  and  after  giving  him  their  fealty,  intro- 
duce him  into  the  place,  of  which  they  make  him 
master.  This  first  success  is  but  ephemeral;  it  is 
soon  succeeded  by  pains  and  tribulations,  but  after 
all  it  was  there  and  in  that  way  that  the  great  des- 
tiny of  Caesar's  nephew  began."  The  debarkation 
near  Boulogne  was  to  be  the  imitation  of  the  debarka- 
tion near  Lupia,  and  Louis  Napoleon  was  to  take 
Octavius  as  his  model. 

The  companions  of  the  Prince  for  the  Boulogne 
expedition  numbered  about  sixty.  Among  them 
figured  several  former  officers,  —  Colonel  Vaudrey 


224  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 


and  Commander  Parquin,  both  of  whom  had  already 
taken  part  in  the  Strasburg  affair,  Colonel  Voisin, 
the  commander  of  Mesonan  and  the  highest  in  rank, 
General  de  Montholon,  Napoleon's  companion  in 
captivity  at  Saint  Helena.  We  cite  also  among  those 
who  took  part  in  the  expedition  M.  de  Persigny,  the 
Vicomte  de  Quenelles,  M.  Bataille,  M.  Bachon,  Dr. 
Conneau,  M.  Bouffet  de  Montauban,  and  M.  Bure, 
the  Prince's  foster  brother.  To  this  little  group 
were  added  some  thirty  discharged  soldiers  who  had 
been  engaged  in  France  in  the  quality  of  domestics. 
A  Parisian  old-clothes  dealer  had  sold  them  uniforms. 
Dr.  Conneau  had  bought  a  press  and  printed  with 
his  own  hand  the  different  proclamations,  signed 
"  Napoleon, "  which  were  to  be  issued  in  France.  The 
first  of  them,  which  was  addressed  to  the  army,  was 
worded  thus :  "  Soldiers !  France  was  made  to  com- 
mand, and  she  is  obeying.  You  are  the  elite  of  the 
people,  and  you  are  treated  like  a  vile  herd.  You 
have  asked  what  has  become  of  the  eagles  of  Austerlitz 
and  Jena.  Behold  those  eagles !  I  bring  them  back 
to  you.  With  them,  you  will  have  glory,  honor,  fort- 
une. Soldiers!  the  great  shade  of  the  Emperor 
Napoleon  speaks  to  you  by  my  voice.  Soldiers !  to 
arms."  In  another  proclamation,  the  Prince  said  to 
the  French  people :  "  Banished  from  my  country,  if  I 
alone  were  unhappy,  I  would  not  complain ;  but  the 
glory  and  honor  of  the  country  are  banished  as  well 
as  I.  To-day,  as  I  did  three  years  ago,  I  come  to 
devote  myself  to  the  popular  cause.     Chance  made 


BOULOGNE  225 


me  fail  at  Strasburg;  the  Alsatian  jury  proved  to  me 
that  I  had  not  deceived  myself.  .  .  .  And  all  of 
you,  poor  and  laborious  classes,  remember  that  it 
was  from  amongst  you  that  Napoleon  selected  his 
lieutenants,  his  marshals,  his  ministers,  his  princes, 
his  friends.  .  .  .  Frenchmen,  I  see  before  me  the 
brilliant  future  of  the  fatherland.  I  feel  behind  me 
the  spirit  of  the  Emperor,  which  urges  me  onward." 
Then  comes  a  decree  enacting  that  the  dynasty  of  the 
Orleans  Bourbons  has  ceased  to  reign,  that  the 
Chamber  of  Peers  and  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  are 
dissolved,  that  a  national  Congress  shall  be  con- 
voked immediately  upon  the  arrival  of  the  Prince 
in  Paris,  that  M.  Thiers  is  appointed  president  of 
the  provisional  government  and  Marshal  Clausel 
commander-in-chief  of  the  troops  assembled  at  Paris ; 
lastly,  that  all  officers,  non-commissioned  officers, 
and  soldiers  who  Avill  display  their  sympathy  for 
the  national  cause  shall  receive  a  striking  reward 
in  the  name  of  the  country. 

August  3,  1840,  all  the  stores  had  been  taken 
aboard  the  Edinburgh  Castle,  lying  in  the  port  of 
London.  They  comprised  money,  munitions,  two 
carriages,  chests  of  uniforms,  baskets  of  wine  and 
liqueurs,  nine  horses,  and  a  live  eagle.  On  the 
morning  of  the  4th  the  Prince  went  on  board  to  pick 
up  his  accomplices  at  different  places,  the  little  band 
having  separated  so  as  not  to  attract  the  attention  of 
the  English  authorities.  The  vessel  did  not  go 
direct  to  its  destination.     It  proceeded  by  long  tacks, 


226  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

and  it  was  not  until  the  6th  of  August,  after  mid- 
night, that  it  anchored  a  quarter  of  a  league  from 
the  coast,  opposite  Vimereux,  a  little  port  about 
four  kilometres  north  of  Boulogne. 

The  present  conspiracy  presented  even  fewer 
chances  of  success  than  that  of  Strasburg.  There, 
Louis  Bonaparte  could  at  least  rely  on  the  com- 
mander of  one  of  the  regiments,  Colonel  Vaudrey. 
At  Boulogne  his  only  accomplice  was  a  single  officer 
of  the  garrison,  Lieutenant  Aladenize,  of  the  42d 
of  the  line.  The  Prince  fancied  that  this  lieutenant 
would  suffice  to  gain  the  entire  regiment ;  that  after- 
wards he  would  go  to  Lille,  followed  by  General 
Magnan,  commanding  the  department  of  the  North ; 
and  that,  received  wherever  he  went  by  the  acclama- 
tions of  the  troops  and  the  population,  he  would 
march  in  triumph  as  far  as  Paris.  All  illusions,  to 
be  dispelled  both  cruelly  and  soon !  The  game  was 
lost  even  before  it  was  begun.  Never  has  an  enter- 
prise made  a  more  lamentable  failure. 

Between  two  and  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  a 
yawl  pushed  off  from  the  vessel  and  made  four  suc- 
cessive trips  in  order  to  land  the  entire  personnel 
of  the  expedition.  Some  customhouse  officers  came 
up.  In  spite  of  all  persuasions  and  promises  of 
money,  they  refused  to  join  the  conspirators.  The 
latter  went  on  their  way,  and  arrived  at  Boulogne 
about  five  o'clock  in  the  morning.  They  received 
their  first  check  on  D' Alton  place,  where  a  post 
comprising  a  sergeant  and  four  men  refused,  as  the 


BOULOGNE  227 


customhouse  officers  had  done,  their  participation  in 
the  plot.  They  reached  the  barracks  of  the  42d  of 
the  line.  Seconded  by  Lieutenant  Aladenize,  the 
Prince  endeavored  to  gain  the  soldiers  over.  Cries 
of  "Long  live  the  Emperor!"  resounded.  But 
Captain  Puygelier  shouted:  "Soldiers,  they  are 
deceiving  you.  Long  live  the  King!"  And  he 
succeeded  in  ejecting  the  conspirators  from  the  bar- 
racks, the  doors  of  which  he  closed.  Then  the 
Prince  and  his  accomplices  essayed  to  rouse  the 
people,  but  with  no  better  success.  After  a  vain 
attempt  to  enter  the  chateau,  they  determined  to  go 
to  the  Grand  Army  column,  situated  about  a  kilo- 
metre from  the  city.  Some  one  climbed  to  the  top 
of  it  and  raised  the  imperial  standard.  But  a  de- 
tachment of  the  42d  of  the  line  appeared  and  put  the 
conspirators  to  flight.  The  Prince  wanted  to  kill 
himself  at  the  foot  of  the  column,  but  was  .prevented 
by  his  friends,  who  took  him  with  them.  A  majority 
of  the  confederates,  pursued  by  the  soldiers  and  the 
national  guard,  gained  the  shore  and  were  arrested 
there.  The  Prince  and  several  others  jumped  into 
the  sea  in  hopes  of  swimming  to  their  yawl.  But 
the  soldiers  and  national  guards  fired  at  them  point 
blank.  The  Prince  was  struck  by  a  ball,  which  was 
lost  in  his  uniform.  M.  Viengiki  was  grievously 
wounded.  Colonel  Voisin  received  two  balls.  Cap- 
tain d'Hunio  was  drowned.  M.  Faure  was  killed. 
The  lieutenant  of  the  post,  M.  Pollet,  got  into  a 
boat  with  five  men  and  two  gendarmes,  and  picked 


228  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

up  the  Prince  and  other  swimmers  exhausted  by 
fatigue,  among  whom  were  M.  de  Persigny,  Colonel 
Voisin,  Dr.  Conneau,  and  M.  de  Me'sonan.  The 
Prince  was  landed  and  taken  in  a  carriage  to  the 
chateau,  where  he  was  permitted  to  go  to  bed  at 
once.  All  the  conspirators  were  prisoners.  It  was 
eight  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  affair  had  lasted 
about  three  hours.  The  sub-prefect  sent  the  follow- 
ing despatch  to  the  Minister  of  the  Interior:  "Louis 
Bonaparte  is  arrested.  He  has  just  been  transferred 
to  the  chateau,  where  he  will  be  well  guarded.  The 
conduct  of  the  people,  the  national  guard,  and  the 
troops  of  the  line  lias  been  admirable." 

M .  Guizot  had  quitted  London  August  6,  leaving 
the  direction  of  the  embassy  to  Baron  de  Bourqueney, 
who  became,  under  the  reign  of  Napoleon  III.,  am- 
bassador at  Vienna  and  second  plenipotentiary  of 
France  at  the  Congress  of  Paris.  The  latter  wrote 
to  M.  Mole,  August  7 :  "  The  great  event  of  yester- 
day was  the  news  of  Louis  Napoleon's  landing  at 
Boulogne.  The  reports  came  by  express  to  the 
Morning  Post,  which  has  published  a  third  edition. 
The  first  impression  produced  was  that  of  absolute 
disbelief  in  the  folly  of  such  an  enterprise,  and  in 
society,  where  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  appear  in  the 
evening,  if  only  to  display  the  most  profound  con- 
tempt for  so  absurd  an  attempt,  I  met  none  but 
those  who  were  convinced  that  the  news  was  a  mere 
speculation  in  stocks.  To-night  the  details  have 
arrived."     Before  Prince  Louis  left  England  a  rumor 


BOULOGNE  229 


had  been  put  in  circulation  that  he  had  seen  Lord 
Palmerston.  The  latter  had  the  rumor  denied  by 
the  ministerial  organ,  the  Globe.  He  said,  more- 
over, to  M.  de  Bourqueney:  "You  know  the  freedom 
of  English  official  manners,  and  you  know  that  I  and 
my  colleagues  could  have  given  a  rendezvous  to 
Louis  Napoleon,  met  him  accidentally  at  the  house 
of  a  third  party,  in  short,  have  had  any  sort  of  for- 
tuitous or  social  relations  with  him.  Well!  there 
has  been  nothing  of  the  sort.  I  swear  to  you  upon 
my  honor  that  we  have  not  seen  the  face  of  Louis 
Napoleon  or  any  one  of  the  adventurers  surrounding 
him.  It  is  plain  to  me  that  the  news  of  a  visit, 
made  or  received,  was  invented  here  and  trans- 
mitted to  the  French  journals,  either  to  accredit  the 
lie  of  there  being  some  indirect  support,  or  else  to 
embitter  and  compromise  the  relations  of  our  two 
governments."  The  defeated  man  of  Boulogne  was 
disowned  by  all  statesmen,  whether  foreigners  or 
Frenchmen. 

M.  Guizot  relates  in  his  Memoirs  that  on  arriv- 
ing, August  7,  at  the  ch&teau  d'Eu,  he  found  the 
King,  M.  Thiers,  and  all  their  circle  at  once  very 
animated  and  very  tranquil  concerning  what  had 
occurred.  "They  beheld  the  simultaneous  explo- 
sion and  conclusion  of  the  Bonapartist  manoeuvres ; 
they  jeered  at  and  were  amazed  by  them.  What 
an  odd  spectacle,  said  they,  Louis  Napoleon  swim- 
ming out  to  regain  a  wretched  yawl  under  fire  from 
the  national  guard  of  Boulogne,  while  the  son  of  the 


230  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

King  and  two  French  frigates  are  sailing  across  the 
ocean  in  search  of  what  remains  of  the  Emperor 
Napoleon  at  Saint  Helena ! " 

At  Paris,  the  journals  received  the  adventure  of 
Boulogne  with  contemptuous  scorn.  Here  is  what 
might  be  read,  August  8,  in  three  of  the  principal 
organs  of  public  opinion. 

The  Journal  des  DSbats :  "  This  outdoes  comedy. 
Madmen  are  not  killed,  but  they  are  put  in  prison." 

The  Constitutionnel :  "  In  this  miserable  affair  the 
odious  vies  with  the  absurd.  Louis  Bonaparte  will 
have  the  shame  of  being  only  a  grotesque  criminal." 

The  Presse :  "  The  son  of  the  ex-King  of  Holland 
has  no  more  mind  than  heart.  He  is  not  even  the 
leader  of  a  party,  but  only  the  wretched  caricature  of 
one." 

The  foreign  journals  were  not  more  indulgent. 
The  correspondent  of  the  Times  wrote :  "  I  have  just 
seen  Louis  Napoleon.  The  poor  devil  is  in  a  sorry 
plight.  He  failed  to  drown  himself,  and  the  bullets 
pressed  him  hard.  If  he  had  received  one  it  would, 
after  all,  have  been  the  best  end  for  such  an  unlucky 
imbecile."  None  but  the  radical  sheets  of  Paris, 
such  as  the  National,  and  Louis  Blanc's  journal,  the 
Revue  du  Progres,  affected  to  shelter  the  defeated 
man  under  their  rather  supercilious  protection. 

There  was  also  a  woman  who  raised  her  voice,  not 
to  justify  the  Prince,  but  to  plead  extenuating  cir- 
cumstances in  his  favor.  This  was  Madame  Emile 
de  Girardin.     She  wrote  in  one  of  her  Lettres  pari- 


BOULOGNE  231 


siennes,  then  very  much  in  vogue:  "Unhappy  pre- 
script! he  wished  to  conquer  France  to  have  at  least 
the  right  to  visit  it;  and  have  we  not  reason  to  say, 
it  is  not  a  throne  he  asks  for,  but  a  country?  But 
being  unable  to  know  Fiance  as  it  is,  he  thought  he 
could  judge  of  it  by  means  of  those  who  claim  to 
represent  it  and  express  its  mind;  he  studied  it  in 
our  patriotic  journals,  and  this  dangerous  study  has 
caused  his  mistakes  and  his  misfortunes."  Madame 
de  Girardin  concluded  thus :  "  Eh !  what,  all  the  jour- 
nals of  France  have  been  shrieking  for  two  years  to 
this  exile!  —  'France  is  perishing  in  slavery;  it  is 
ruined,  despised,  dishonored,  despairing,  betrayed, 
sold,  lost! '  And  now  they  dare  to  find  him  guilty 
for  coming  to  its  rescue!  Alas!  they  are  right, 
for  in  politics  it  is  a  crime  to  listen  to  impostors 
twice." 

The  Prince  was  transferred  from  Boulogne  to 
the  fortress  of  Ham,  where  he  arrived  August  9. 
The  same  day,  a  royal  ordinance  handed  him  and  his 
confederates  over  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Chamber 
of  Peere.  Most  of  the  journals  blamed  this  decision 
and  maintained  that  the  affair  should  have  been 
brought  before  a  jury.  But  the  Journal  des  DSbats 
said:  "We  are  aware  that  as  a  pretender  to  the 
throne  M.  Louis  Bonaparte  is  ridiculous  in  the  eyes 
of  everybody;  as  a  prisoner,  it  is  perhaps  not  im- 
possible that  the  nephew  of  the  Emperor  might  find 
another  Strasburg  jury;  that  is  a  risk  which,  how- 
ever improbable  it  seems,  is  one  to  which  the  Gov- 


232  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

ernment  would  be  mad  and  guilty  to  expose  itself." 
The  Prince,  after  having  remained  for  three  days  in 
the  citadel  of  Ham,  was  taken  to  Paris,  where  he 
arrived  in  the  night  of  August  12-13,  and  was  in- 
carcerated in  the  Conciergerie. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

THE   CONCIEBGERIE 

"VTAPOLEON  III.  often  said  to  great  foreign 
-^  personages  who  wished  to  see  Paris:  "Go  to 
the  Conciergerie ;  it  is  very  interesting."  He  had 
been  a  prisoner  there  himself,  and  retained  an  in- 
effaceable recollection  of  it.  If,  in  fact,  there  is  a 
spot  in  the  world  adapted  to  inspire  philosophical 
reflections  on  the  vicissitudes  of  fate,  it  is  certainly 
that  ancient  palace  of  Saint  Louis,  the  vaults  of 
which  once  served  as  a  foundation  to  the  high  quad- 
rangular tower  from  which  was  held  every  fief  of  the 
realm,  and  which  has  become  a  place  of  anguish  and 
of  terror.  For  a  century  the  martyrology  of  our  his- 
tory is  inscribed  upon  its  fatal  stones.  All  dynasties 
and  all  parties  have  had  their  victims  there.  The 
eldest  branch  of  the  Bourbons  has  been  represented 
by  Marie  Antoinette  and  Madame  Elisabeth;  the 
younger  by  Philippe  Egalite* ;  the  Empire  by  Louis 
Napoleon ;  the  Republic  by  the  Girondins,  Madame 
Roland,  Robespierre,  and  many  others,  republicans 
or  royalists,  who  laid  their  heads  upon  the  scaffold. 
Louis  Napoleon's  situation  at  the  Conciergerie 
was  painful.     What  a  bitter  disillusion!     What  a 

233 


234  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

distance  between  the  dream  and  the  reality!  To 
imagine  a  triumphant  entry  into  the  Tuileries,  and 
to  be  led  a  prisoner  into  the  dungeon  of  Fieschi! 
To  dream  of  acclamations,  fanfares,  hosannahs, 
transports  of  enthusiasm,  and  awake  to  nothing  but 
invectives,  jests,  and  sarcasms!  Armed  as  he  was 
against  the  blows  of  fortune,  the  captive  found  it 
hard  to  struggle  with  discouragement.  This  tran- 
scendently  audacious  man  of  action  had  a  dream}' 
and  poetic  side.  Andre*  Cheiiier,  who  likewise  had 
been  a  prisoner  in  the  Conciergerie,  had  composed 
these  verses  there  a  few  moments  before  leaving  it 
for  the  scaffold:  — 

Comme  un  dernier  rayon,  comme  un  dernier  zephyre, 

Anime  la  Jin  d'un  beau  jour, 
Au  pied  de  I'echa/aud,  fessaie  encore  ma  lyre, 

Peut-etre  est-ce  bientot  mon  tour; 
Peut-etre  avant  que  Vheure  en  cercle  promene'e 

Ait  pose  sur  I 'email  brillant, 
Dans  les  soixante  pas  ou  sa  route  est  borne'e, 

Son  pied  sonore  et  vigilant, 
Le  sommeil  du  tombeau  pressera  ma  paupiere. 

Avant  que  de  ses  deux  moities, 
Le  vers  que  je  commence  ait  atteint  la  derniere, 

Peut-etre  en  ces  murs  effraye's 
Le  messager  de  mort,  noir  recruteur  des  ombres, 

Escorte  d'infames  soldats, 
Remplira  de  mon  nom  ces  longs  corridors  sombres.1 

1  As  a  lingering  ray,  as  a  lingering  breeze,  — The  close  of  a  fair 
day  revive,  —  At  the  scaffold's  foot  on  my  lyre  I  seize,  — Perhaps 
my  turn  may  soon  arrive. — For  the  circling  hour  may  not  yet 
have  placed  —  Upon  the  shining  dial  plate  —  His  resonant,  vigilant 


THE  CONCIERGEBIE  235 

In  his  gloomy  dungeon  Louis  Napoleon  thought 
of  the  poet  Schiller,  whose  works  he  knew  by  heart, 
and  on  the  18th  of  August,  1840,  he  translated  into 
French  prose  the  celebrated  poem  called  The  Ideal. 
Here  are  some  fragments  of  this  translation :  — 

"  Oh !  happy  period  of  my  youth,  wilt  thou  leave 
me  never  to  return  ?  Wilt  thou  pitilessly  take  to 
flight  with  thy  joys  and  thy  sorrows,  with  thy  sub- 
lime illusions  ?  Can  nothing  arrest  thee  in  thy  flight  ? 
Are  thy  billows  to  lose  themselves  irrevocably  in  the 
night  of  eternity?  The  brilliant  stars  which  illu- 
mined my  entry  into  life  have  lost  their  lustre ;  the 
ideal  which  dilated  my  heart,  inebriated  with  hope, 
has  fled  away.  It  is  annihilated,  that  sweet  belief 
in  beings  created  by  my  imagination;  those  dreams 
once  so  fair,  so  divine,  have  fallen  a  prey  to  the  sad 
reality!" 

In  this  poem  of  Schiller's  how  many  things  are 
suggestive  of  the  vexations  and  disenchantments  of 
the  prisoner!  "With  an  immense  effort  my  con- 
tracted breast  dilated  in  an  immense  circle,  and  I 
wished  to  enter  life  by  words  and  actions,  by  illu- 
sion as  well  as  by  sensation.  How  great  was  this 
world,  so  long  as  it  had  not  unfolded  before  my 
eyes!     But  how  few  things  I  have  seen  expand; 

foot,  or  have  paced  —  The  sixty  steps  ordained  by  fate  —  Ere  the 
sleep  of  the  grave  o'er  my  eyelids  has  passed.  —  Before  of  its  two 
moieties^  —  The  line  I  commence  has  attained  to  the  last,  —  These 
frighted  walls  my  name  may  seize,  —  Along  the  sombre  corridors 
sounded  —  By  the  herald  of  death,  dark  recruiter  of  souls, — By 
soldiers  infamous  surrounded. 


236  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

and  those  few,  how  little  and  how  mean  they 
were! " 

The  defeated  man  of  Strasburg  and  Boulogne 
recognized  himself  in  these  lines:  "With  what 
audacity,  transported  by  what  noble  ardor,  the  young 
man  launched  into  life  when  the  delirium  of  his 
dreams  rendered  him  happy  and  no  care  had  as  yet 
put  a  barrier  to  his  impetuosity!  The  lofty  flight 
of  projects  carried  him  to  the  summit  of  the  firma- 
ment ;  nothing  was  so  distant  that  in  his  intoxica- 
tion he  thought  himself  unable  to  attain  it." 

The  prisoner  of  the  Conciergerie  exclaimed  with 
Schiller:  "I  have  seen  the  sacred  crown  of  glory 
withering  on  commonplace  foreheads.  Alas!  the 
happy  time  of  love  has  had  but  a  brief  springtime, 
and  my  road  becomes  more  and  more  deserted.  The 
silence  increases,  and  hope  now  scarcely  throws  a 
feeble  lustre  across  my  obscure  path." 

Louis  Napoleon  had  one  consolation.  Knowing 
him  to  be  so  unhappy,  his  father,  although  he  blamed 
him,  sent  him  a  token  of  sympathy.  Then  the  pris- 
oner wrote  this  letter :  "  At  the  Conciergerie,  Sep- 
tember 6,  1840.  —  My  dear  father,  I  have  not  yet 
written  you,  because  I  was  afraid  of  causing  you 
distress.  But  to-day,  when  I  learn  what  interest 
you  have  manifested  in  me,  I  come  to  thank  you  and 
to  ask  your  blessing  as  the  only  thing  which  now 
has  any  value  for  me.  My  sweetest  consolation  in 
misfortune  is  to  hope  that  your  thoughts  sometimes 
incline  towards  me.     I  shall  endure  to  the  end  with 


THE  CONCIEROERIE  237 

courage  the  fate  which  awaits  me,  and,  proud  of  my 
self-imposed  mission,  I  will  always  show  myself 
worthy  of  the  name  I  bear,  and  of  your  affection." 

Some  days  later,  Louis  Napoleon,  still  in  his 
prison,  received  a  visit  which  greatly  moved  him. 
Madame  Re'camier,  although  she  had  not  kept  up 
any  personal  relations  with  the  Prince  since  the 
journey  she  made  to  Arenenberg  in  1832,  was  sum- 
moned to  appear  before  a  magistrate  on  the  occasion 
of  the  Boulogne  affair,  and  subjected  to  an  examina- 
tion. This  did  not  prevent  her  concerning  herself 
about  the  captive.  She  asked  and  obtained  permis- 
sion to  see  him.  The  "permit  to  communicate  with 
Prince  Louis  Bonaparte  "  was  dated  September  12, 
1840,  and  authorized  two  visits.  Madame  Re'camier 
made  only  one.  The  Prince  was  much  affected  by 
the  interest  manifested  in  him  by  this  good  and 
generous  woman.  He  thanked  her  cordially,  and  on 
her  departure  accompanied  her  as  far  as  the  officials 
would  allow. 

The  future  sovereign  of  France  retained  his  faith 
in  his  star  even  in  the  Conciergerie.  To  be  sum- 
moned before  men  whom  his  uncle  had  loaded  with 
benefits  did  not  displease  him.  The  Capitole,  the 
Bonapartist  journal,  said:  "Can  one  imagine  the 
nephew  of  the  Emperor  seated  on  the  bench  of 
the  accused  in  presence  of  two  hundred  creatures 
of  the  Empire,  each  one  of  whom  he  might  remind 
of  ten  or  a  dozen  oaths  taken  to  his  dynasty,  and 
as  many  benefits  received  from  Napoleonic  munifi- 


238  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 


cence?  Can  one  fancy,  for  example,  M.  Pasquier, 
the  greatest  dignitary  of  the  peerage,  reminding  the 
illustrious  accused  of  the  sanctity  of  an  oath  and 
the  claims  of  gratitude?  M.  Pasquier,  the  auditor 
of  the  Council  of  State,  the  master  of  requests,  the 
procurator  general  of  the  seal  of  titles,  the  officer  of 
the  Legion  of  Honor,  the  baron,  the  director  of 
roads  and  bridges,  the  prefect  of  police  of  the 
Empire!"  The  legitimist  journal,  the  Gazette  de 
France,  said  in  its  turn:  "The  accused,  then,  will 
be  condemned  by  marshals  and  generals  who,  at  the 
time  of  the  return  from  Elba,  took  arms  by  usurpa- 
tion !  Their  sentence  will  be  signed  by  MM. 
Grouchy,  Gerard,  Soult!  .  .  .  Louis  Bonaparte 
will  reply  that  the  election  of  Louis  Philippe  was 
accomplished  by  two  hundred  and  nineteen  depu- 
ties, appointed  by  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
electors,  while  the  hereditary  Empire  obtained  four 
millions  of  votes.  .  .  .  Will  he  be  told  that  there 
is  no  sympathy  for  the  Empire  in  the  country?  He 
will  show  you  the  VendQme  column,  and  the  monu- 
ment erected  at  the  Invalides  by  M.  Thiers,  and  all 
the  pictures  displayed  in  our  streets.  Will  it  be 
objected  that  as  far  as  the  country  is  concerned  the 
Empire  has  no  heir?  He  will  answer:  'What  do 
you  know  about  it?'" 

August  19,  1840,  an  examining  committee  ap- 
pointed by  the  Chamber  of  Peers,  and  consisting  of 
Chancellor  Pasquier,  the  Due  Decazes,  Comte  Por- 
talis,  Baron  Girod  de  l'Ain,  Marshal  Gerard,  and 


THE  CONCIERGERIE  239 


M.  Persil,  had  gone  to  the  Conciergerie  and  inter- 
rogated the  Prince  and  the  other  accused  persons 
from  noon  to  five  o'clock.  September  15,  M.  Persil, 
who  had  been  appointed  to  draw  up  their  report, 
submitted  his  work  to  the  Chamber  of  Peers,  and 
on  the  16th  the  upper  house  presented  an  indictment 
against  Louis  Bonaparte  and  his  accomplices  for  the 
crime  of  an  attempt  on  the  safety  of  the  state.  The 
Prince  impatiently  awaited  the  hour  when  he  should 
appear  before  his  judges.  In  his  eyes,  the  bench  of 
the  accused  would  be  a  pedestal  from  whose  summit 
he  could  utter,  urbi  et  orbi,  solemn  words  which 
would  find  their  echo  not  alone  in  France,  but 
throughout  the  world.  He  would  pass  from  dark- 
ness into  light. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

THE  COURT  OF  PEERS 

r~PHE  debates  opened  in  the  Luxembourg  palace, 
where  the  Chamber  of  Peers  held  its  sessions, 
September  28,  1840.  Veiy  few  people  hung  about 
the  entrances.  The  trial  of  Madame  Lafargue, 
which  was  just  then  going  on,  interested  the  Pari- 
sian public  far  more  than  that  of  the  Emperor's 
nephew. 

Louis  Napoleon,  in  a  dress  coat,  white  vest,  black 
cravat,  and  wearing  the  star  of  the  Legion  of  Honor, 
made  his  entry  into  the  hall,  followed  by  his  coun- 
sel, M.  Berryer,  the  celebrated  legitimist  leader. 
After  the  indictment  had  been  read,  the  Prince, 
having  asked  permission  to  speak,  read  a  somewhat 
lengthy  declaration,  which  opened  thus :  "  For  the 
first  time  in  my  life,  I  am  at  last  permitted  to  raise 
my  voice  in  France  and  to  speak  freely  to  French- 
men. In  spite  of  the  guards  who  surround  me,  in 
spite  of  the  accusations  I  have  just  listened  to,  the 
souvenirs  of  my  childhood  and  my  presence  within 
these  senate  walls,  surrounded  by  you,  gentlemen, 
whom  I  know,  make  it  impossible  for  me  to  believe 
that  I  need  to  justify  myself,  or  that  you  can  be  my 

240 


THE  COURT  OF  PEERS  241 

judges.  A  solemn  occasion  is  afforded  me  to  ex- 
plain to  my  fellow  citizens  my  conduct,  my  in- 
tentions, my  projects,  what  I  think,  and  what  I 
wish." 

The  Prince  proceeded  to  expound  the  plebisci- 
tarian  doctrine.  "  During  the  fifty  years  in  which 
the  principle  of  popular  sovereignty  in  France  has 
been  consecrated  by  the  most  powerful  revolution 
the  world  has  ever  known,  the  national  will  has 
never  been  proclaimed  so  solemnly  nor  sanctioned 
by  votes  so  free  and  numerous  as  in  the  adoption 
of  the  constitutions  of  the  Empire.  The  nation  has 
never  revoked  that  great  act  of  its  sovereignty,  and 
the  Emperor  has  said:  'Anything  done  without  it  is 
illegitimate.  .  .  .'  I  have  thought  that  the  vote  of 
four  millions  of  citizens  which  elevated  my  family 
imposed  on  us  the  duty  of  appealing  to  the  nation 
and  inquiring  its  will.  .  .  .  The  nation  would 
have  responded:  republic  or  monarchy,  empire  or 
royalty.  Upon  its  free  decision  depend  the  end  of 
our  calamities,  the  term  of  our  dissensions." 

The  accused  assumed  entire  responsibility  for 
what  he  had  done.  "As  to  my  enterprise,"  said  he, 
"  I  have  had  no  accomplices.  I  decided  everything 
alone;  no  person  has  known  in  advance  either  my 
projects,  my  resources,  or  my  hopes.  If  I  am 
guilty,  it  is  only  towards  my  friends.  Yet,  let 
them  not  accuse  me  of  having  lightly  abused  cour- 
age and  devotion  such  as  theirs.  They  will  compre- 
hend the  motives  of  honor  and  prudence  which  did 


242  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

not  permit  me  to  reveal  even  to  them  the  extent  and 
strength  of  my  reasons  for  expecting  a  success." 

The  declaration  terminated  thus :  "  One  last  word, 
gentlemen.  I  represent  a  principle,  a  cause,  a  de- 
feat :  a  principle,  the  sovereignty  of  the  people ;  the 
cause,  that  of  the  Empire;  the  defeat,  Waterlo/). 
The  principle,  you  have  recognized;  the  cause,  you 
have  served;  the  defeat,  you  wish  to  avenge.  No, 
there  is  no  discord  between  us,  and  I  am  unwilling 
to  believe  that  I  can  be  doomed  to  bear  the  penalties 
of  the  defections  of  another. 

"  Representing  a  political  cause,  I  cannot  accept  a 
political  jurisdiction  as  the  judge  of  my  intentions 
and  my  actions.  Your  forms  deceive  nobody.  In 
the  struggle  that  is  beginning  there  is  but  one  victor 
and  one  vanquished.  If  you  are  the  victor's  men,  I 
cannot  expect  justice  from  you,  and  I  will  not  have 
your  generosity." 

One  of  the  judges,  General  de  Se"gur,  has  written 
in  his  Memoirs:  "This  speech,  when  it  is  re-read, 
will  produce  some  effect.  It  produced  little  on 
those  who  heard  it,  either  through  reprobation  of 
the  deed  it  tended  to  justify,  or  the  unlikeness 
between  the  attitude  and  the  words,  and  because  it 
was  delivered  coldly.  .  .  .  We  beheld  the  Prince 
singularly  careless  of  the  effect  he  was  producing  on 
our  assembly.  I  will  add  that  during  the  debates 
his  countenance  seemed  to  us  without  expression, 
his  glance  without  fire,  his  attitude  simple,  unem- 
barrassed, and  even  of  a  dignified  firmness,  but  calm 


THE  COURT  OF  PEERS  243 

even  to  impassibility,  —  another  singular  anomaly, 
another  unexpected  contrast  with  the  impatient 
temerity  of  his  rash  actions." 

The  accused  had  not  attempted  to  win  his  judges. 
Feeling  himself  condemned  beforehand,  he  had  not 
addressed  his  discourse  to  them,  but  to  Fiance. 

The  sessions  of  the  28th  and  29th  of  September, 
and  part  of  that  of  the  30th,  were  devoted  to  exami- 
nations and  to  the  hearing  of  witnesses.  The  30th, 
the  attorney  general,  Frank-Carre*,  in  his  speech, 
said  to  the  Prince:  "The  sword  of  Austerlitz  is  too 
heavy  for  your  feeble  hands.  The  name  of  the  Em- 
peror, understand  it  well,  belongs  to  France  more 
than  it  does  to  you."  On  the  same  day,  M.  Berryer 
began  his  speech  in  defence  of  Louis  Napoleon. 

The  great  legitimist  orator,  always  skilful  in  the 
art  of  reconciling  the  requirements  of  his  personal 
situation  with  those  of  the  causes  confided  to  him, 
had  willingly  accepted  the  rOle  of  advocate  of  a 
Bonaparte,  in  order  to  have  an  occasion  to  criticise 
the  origin  and  tendencies  of  Louis  Philippe's  Gov- 
ernment. He  sought  to  render  this  Government 
itself  responsible  for  the  Bonapartist  propaganda. 
"The  tomb  of  the  hero,"  he  exclaimed,  "is  about  to 
be  opened!  His  ashes  are  to  be  disturbed  in  order 
to  transport  them  to  Paris !  Can  you  not  compre- 
hend the  effect  such  manifestations  must  have 
produced  on  the  young  Prince?  The  need  of  re- 
animating the  souvenirs  of  the  Empire  has  been  so 
great  that  under  the  reign  of  a  prince  who,  in  other 


244  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

times,  asked  to  bear  arms  against  the  imperial  armies 
and  to  combat  him  whom  he  called  the  Corsican 
usurper,  the  ministry  has  said:  'He  was  the  legiti- 
mate sovereign  of  our  country ; '  and  you  are  unwill- 
ing that  this  young  man  should  say  to  himself:  'The 
name  they  are  shouting  belongs  to  me.'  "  The  advo- 
cate then  made  a  violent  assault  upon  what  the  oppo- 
sition of  the  day  called  the  weakness  of  the  foreign 
policy  of  the  Government,  and  attempted  to  find  in 
it  an  extenuating  circumstance,  if  not  a  justification, 
in  favor  of  his  client.  In  his  peroration  he  addressed 
this  apostrophe  to  the  French  peerage :  "  You  allude 
to  the  feebleness  of  the  means,  the  poverty  of  the 
enterprise,  the  ridiculousness  of  the  hope  of  success. 
Well!  if  success  is  all,  lay  your  hands  on  your 
hearts,  and  tell  us,  before  God:  'If  this  cause  had 
succeeded,  if  it  had  triumphed,  I  would  have  denied 
it,  I  would  have  declined  all  participation  in  this 
power,  I  would  have  despised,  I  would  have  repelled 
it. '  For  me,  I  would  accept  that  supreme  arbitrage, 
and  whichever  one  among  you,  before  God  and  the 
country,  will  say  to  me:  'If  it  had  succeeded,  I 
would  have  abjured  it,'  I  accept  him  as  judge." 

October  1,  Lieutenant  Aladenize,  of  the  42d  of  the 
line,  was  defended  by  M.  Jules  Favre.  Like  his 
legitimist  associate  Berryer,  the  republican  advocate 
bitterly  criticised  the  foreign  policy  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  July.  "This  vaulted  roof,"  said  he,  "still 
resounds  with  the  manly  accents  of  a  powerful  voice 
which  yesterday  reminded  you  of  the  utter  pusilla- 


THE  COURT  OF  PEERS  245 

niraity  of  a  system  unworthy  a  great  nation.  .  .  . 
To  those  who  are  concerned  about  the  dignity  and 
grandeur  of  the  country,  who  desire  that  the  French 
name  should  everywhere  be  the  most  powerful  and 
the  most  respected,  as  it  is  the  most  generous,  it  is 
permissible  to  be  afflicted  and  to  turn  their  thoughts 
toward  the  epochs  of  our  glory.  These  sentiments, 
gentlemen  of  the  peerage,  were  those  of  Aladenize. 
In  his  modest  sphere  he  endured  impatiently  the 
miseries  of  the  present  and  longed  ardently  for  a 
future  which  might  realize  his  dreams  of  national 
greatness."  M.  Favre  represented  his  client  as  a 
disillusionized  combatant  of  July,  as  a  patriot  in 
despair  at  not  yet  seeing  France  plant  its  standard 
on  the  borders  of  the  Rhine;  and,  alluding  to  the 
menaces  of  war,  he  exclaimed  in  his  peroration: 
"You  will  permit  Aladenize,  when  the  day  arrives, 
to  march  under  the  orders  of  these  veterans  of  vic- 
tory whom  I  see  before  me,  and  who,  at  need,  will 
not  have  forgotten  the  road  to  the  capitals  of  Europe." 
The  Court  of  Peers  rendered  its  verdict  October  6. 
Louis  Napoleon  was  condemned  to  perpetual  impris- 
onment in  a  fortress  situated  within  the  continental 
territory  of  the  realm;  Lieutenant  Aladenize  to 
transportation;  General  de  Montholon,  MM.  Par- 
quier,  Lombard,  and  de  Persigny  each  to  twenty 
years'  detention;  nine  other  accused  persons  to  vari- 
ous penalties  ranging  from  fifteen  years'  detention  to 
two  years'  imprisonment.  The  Prince  addressed  to 
M.  Berryer  the  same  day  a  letter  in  which  he  said : 


246  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

"I  do  not  know  what  fate  reserves  for  me,  I  do 
not  know  whether  I  shall  ever  be  able  to  prove  my 
gratitude  to  you,  I  do  not  know  whether  you  would 
accept  such  proofs ;  but,  whatever  our  reciprocal 
claims  may  be,  aside  from  politics  and  its  desolating 
obligations,  we  can  always  entertain  a  mutual  amity 
and  esteem ;  and  I  own  that  if  my  trial  is  to  have  no 
other  results  than  that  of  winning  me  your  friend- 
ship, I  shall  still  feel  that  I  have  gained  immensely, 
and  shall  not  complain  of  my  fate."  The  next  day, 
October  7,  1840,  Louis  Napoleon  was  incarcerated  in 
the  fortress  of  Ham. 


CHAPTER   XXIV 

THE  FOETBESS   OF   HAM 

TTAM  is  a  city  of  four  thousand  souls,  in  the 
department  of  the  Somme.  At  the  right, 
approaching  it  from  the  city,  one  sees  a  vast  fortress, 
whose  origin  goes  back  to  the  eighth  century,  and 
whose  dungeon  was  constructed  by  Louis  of  Luxem- 
bourg, Constable  of  Saint-Pol,  under  the  reign  of 
Louis  XL  In  form  the  citadel  is  a  great  square, 
flanked  by  four  round  towers  united  by  three  ram- 
parts. It  has  but  one  door,  which  is  on  the  town 
side,  and  is  entered  by  means  of  a  drawbridge  thrown 
across  a  dry  moat.  On  the  south  and  east  the  walls 
of  the  fortress  are  bathed  by  the  canal  of  Saint-Quen- 
tin.  In  the  middle  of  the  enclosure  are  two  brick 
buildings,  which  are  used  as  barracks.  At  the  ex- 
tremity of  one  of  these,  opposite  the  door  of  the  for- 
tress and  near  the  other  side  of  the  quadrangle,  a 
sort  of  barrack-guardhouse  has  been  built,  resembling 
those  of  the  fortifications  of  Paris.  All  the  windows 
are  grated.  In  this,  state  prisoners  were  detained, 
and  in  it  Louis  Napoleon  was  incarcerated. 

The  same  building  had  been  the  prison  of  four 
ministers  of  Charles  X.,  from  the  end  of  December, 

247 


248  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

1830,  until  the  amnesty  of  1836.  These  were  Prince 
de  Polignac,  Comte  de  Peyronnet,  M.  de  Chante- 
lauze,  and  Comte  de  Guernon  de  Rauville,  all  of 
whom  had  signed  the  ordinance  that  caused  the 
downfall  of  the  throne.  One  of  them,  M.  de  Pey- 
ronnet, wrote,  August  28,  1831,  these  lines,  which 
were  reproduced  in  the  Quotidienne  newspaper: 
"The  prison  of  Ham  is  very  badly  situated,  and, 
moreover,  unhealtlry.  It  is  enveloped  in  fogs  half 
the  day.  The  promenade  covers  a  space  of  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  at  the  end  of  a  rampart 
where  not  more  than  two  persons  can  walk  abreast." 

Condemned  to  perpetual  imprisonment,  Louis 
Napoleon  arrived  at  the  fortress  of  Ham,  October  7, 
1840.  By  a  strange  coincidence,  this  was  precisely 
the  day  on  which  the  Belle-Poule,  commanded  by  a 
son  of  King  Louis  Philippe,  sighted  the  island  of 
Saint  Helena,  where  it  had  gone  to  seek  the  ashes  of 
the  Emperor  Napoleon  and  bring  them  back  trium- 
phantly to  France. 

This  was  not  the  first  time  that  Louis  Bonaparte 
had  been  a  prisoner  at  Ham.  As  we  have  said 
before,  he  was  shut  up  there  during  four  days,  after 
the  escapade  of  Boulogne.  He  had  arrived  there 
August  8,  between  midnight  and  one  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  in  a  carriage  escorted  by  dragoons,  and  on 
a  night  so  dark  that  it  had  been  necessary  to  light 
torches  in  order  to  guide  the  postilions  to  the  prison 
door.  The  Carlist  general,  Cabrera,  was  then  de- 
tained there.     He  had  been  brought  down  to  room 


THE  FORTRESS  OF  HAM  249 

1,  on  the  ground  floor,  in  order  to  give  the  Prince 
rooms  7  and  9  on  the  second  story.  In  his  curious 
work  entitled  Louis-Napoleon  prisonnier  au  fort  de 
Ham,  M.  Hachet-Stouplet  relates  that  on  that  occa- 
sion Lardenois,  commandant  of  gendarmerie,  fearing 
that  the  Prince  might  attempt  suicide,  forbade  him 
to  shave  himself,  and  made  him  give  up  a  notched 
old  knife  which  had  long  been  useless.  At  the  same 
time  he  proscribed  books,  pens,  and  pencils.  And 
yet  Louis  Napoleon  still  hoped,  even  in  this  cruel 
situation.  On  one  of  the  walls  of  his  chamber  he 
wrote  with  a  piece  of  charcoal:  "The  Napoleonic 
cause  is  the  cause  of  the  people's  interests;  it  is  the 
European  cause;  sooner  or  later  it  will  triumph." 
And  below  this :  "  Left  England  August  4.  Arrived 
before  Vimereux,  August  5.  Landed  at  Boulogne, 
August  6.  At  Boulogne,  August  7.  At  Ham, 
August  8." 

Returning  to  the  fortress  of  Ham  October  7,  the 
Prince  was  incarcerated  in  the  chamber  he  had  occu- 
pied already.  If  he  was  badly  lodged,  he  was  well 
guarded.  Four  hundred  infantrymen  occupied  the 
barracks  of  the  fortress,  and  sixty  sentries,  scattered 
on  every  side,  obeyed  strict  orders.  At  Boulogne, 
among  the  officers  who  had  shown  noticeable  firm- 
ness against  the  Prince  figured  the  commandant  of 
the  place,  Captain  Demarle.  For  that  reason  he  had 
been  chosen  as  commandant  of  the  fort  and  city  of 
Ham.  He  was  ordered  to  exercise  the  strictest 
watchfulness  over  the  acts  and  gestures  of  the  pris- 


250  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

oner,  and  he  rendered  a  detailed  account  of  them  to 
the  Minister  of  the  Interior. 

The  beginnings  of  the  Prince's  captivity  were  very 
painful.  No  companion  had  been  assigned  him. 
But  this  severity  was  soon  abated,  and  the  Govern- 
ment accorded  him  the  precious  favor  of  having  three 
of  his  most  loyal  friends  beside  him.  He  was  re- 
joined in  prison  by  Dr.  Conneau,  October  11,  1840, 
by  General  de  Montholon  the  16th  of  the  same 
month,  and  by  Charles  Th^lin  the  25th  of  the  fol- 
lowing May.  The  general  had  been  condemned  to 
twenty  years'  imprisonment  and  the  doctor  to  five, 
while  Charles  Thelin,  the  Prince's  faithful  servant, 
had  been  acquitted.  All  three  requested  and  ob- 
tained permission  to  be  incarcerated  with  him.  No 
courtiers  of  misfortune  could  have  been  more  wel- 
come. 

Born  in  1783,  General  Comte  de  Montholon  be- 
longed to  an  old  and  distinguished  military  family, 
and  had  signalized  himself  in  Italy,  at  Austerlitz, 
Jena,  Friedland,  and  Wagram.  The  Emperor's  aide- 
de-camp  during  the  Hundred  Days,  he  accompanied 
him  to  Saint  Helena.  April  30,  1821,  after  having 
written  much  from  the  dictation  of  Napoleon,  who 
was  to  die  five  days  later,  he  felt  exhausted,  and 
General  Bertrand  offered  to  replace  him  at  the  sick 
man's  bedside.  "Montholon  suffices  me,"  said  the 
Emperor.  "It  is  your  fault  if  I  have  accustomed 
myself  to  his  attentions,  which  are  like  those  of  a 
son.     At  present  I  desire  no  others.     It  is  he  who 


THE  FORTRESS  OF  HAM  '251 

will  receive  my  last  sigh;  it  will  be  the  reward  of 
his  services."  Montholon  was  one  of  the  executors 
of  the  Emperor's  will  and  the  depositary  of  his 
manuscripts.  On  returning  to  Europe  he  published 
in  1823  the  Memoirs  contributing  to  the  history  of 
France  under  Napoleon,  and  written  under  his  dic- 
tation. Devoted  to  the  nephew  as  he  had  been  to 
the  uncle,  when  in  presence  of  the  Court  of  Peers, 
he  uttered  these  words  to  justify  himself  for  having 
taken  part  in  the  expedition  of  Boulogne:  "I  re- 
ceived the  Emperor's  last  sigh;  I  closed  his  eyes; 
that  is  enough  to  explain  my  conduct." 

Doctor  Conneau  was  deeply  attached  to  Louis 
Napoleon.  After  having  been  the  secretary  of  the 
former  King  of  Holland,  he  studied  medicine  in 
Florence.  In  1831  he  took  part  in  the  insurrection 
of  the  Romagna.  From  there  he  went  to  France, 
whence  he  wrote  to  Prince  Louis  for  letters  of  recom- 
mendation. The  Prince  replied  by  inviting  him  to 
Arenenberg,  where  the  doctor  was  so  well  received 
by  Queen  Hortense  that  he  never  wished  to  leave 
her.  The  following  lines  occur  in  the  Queen's  will: 
"  I  give  to  Dr.  Conneau  a  present  of  twenty  thousand 
francs  and  a  watch,  as  a  souvenir  of  his  devotion  in 
coming  to  attend  me.  I  greatly  desire  that  my  son 
may  retain  him."  "  This  last  wish,  gentlemen,"  said 
M.  Barillon,  in  defending  the  doctor  before  the  Court 
of  Peers,  "  has  been  religiously  observed ;  for  on  this 
sorrowful  bench  you  perceive  Conneau  beside  the  son 
of  his  benefactress."     Blondel  was  not  more  faithful 


252  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

to  Richard  Cceur-de-Lion  than  Dr.  Conneau  to  Louis 
Napoleon. 

As  to  Charles  Thelin,  he  was  a  model  servant. 
At  the  moment  when  he  saw  the  Prince  flying  toward 
the  coast  of  Boulogne,  he  had  done  all  in  his  power 
to  enable  him  to  re-embark.  Thelin  infinitely  pre- 
ferred captivity  with  his  master  to  liberty  without 
him.  M.  Capo  de  Feuillide  has  written:  "Thelin 
prided  himself  from  childhood  on  the  title  and  func- 
tions of  the  Prince's  valet-de-chambre ;  the  Prince 
raised  him  to  his  own  level  by  the  title  of  friend." 

According  to  M.  Hachet-Stouplet,  Louis  Napoleon, 
General  de  Montholon,  and  Dr.  Conneau  were  in- 
stalled as  follows  in  the  building  assigned  to  them : 


Door. 


Ground  floor. 


No.  1.    Room  used  as  a  chapel. 
"    2.    General  de  Montholon's  study. 
"    3.     Bathroom. 
"    4.     The  General's  bedroom. 
"    5  and  6.    Guardrooms. 

Stairway. 

Second  story. 

No.  7.    The  Prince's  study. 
"    8.    Dr.  Conneau's  bedroom. 
"    9.     The  Prince's  bedroom. 
"  10  and  11.    Rooms  whose  doors  were  walled  up. 
"  12.    Laboratory. 

Stairway. 


THE  FORTRESS  OF  HAM  253 

The  floors  were  very  unevenly  tiled;  there  were 
holes  in  the  ceilings ;  the  curtains  were  in  rags ;  the 
windows  closed  badly. 

However,  the  Prince  did  not  complain  of  his  new 
lodgings.  "I  am  now  installed,"  he  wrote  to 
Madame  Salvage,  October  16,  1840 ;  "  I  have  a  good 
bed,  white  curtains,  a  round  table,  a  commode,  and 
six  chairs."  He  had  also  in  his  chamber  a  looking- 
glass  measuring  3x6  inches,  a  faience  stove,  and  two 
deal  shelves  on  which  were  placed  his  silver  toilet 
articles,  marked  with  the  imperial  arms. 

Room  No.  7,  which  the  Prince  used  both  as  study 
and  salon,  was  furnished  with  a  mahogany  bureau,- 
an  old  commode,  a  sofa,  an  armchair,  four  straw 
chairs,  and  a  screen,  which  the  prisoner  placed  there 
to  shield  himself  from  draughts.  He  amused  him- 
self by  decorating  this  screen  with  caricatures  care- 
fully cut  out  from  Charivari.  Gradually  he  added 
to  this  furniture  some  pictures  relating  to  the  historjr 
of  the  Empire,  a  portrait  of  his  mother,  busts  of 
Napoleon  and  Josephine  by  Charvet,  and  a  certain 
number  of  books  and  newspapers,  notably  a  collec- 
tion of  Moniteurs  and  fifty  volumes  of  the  Journal 
des  DSbats.  Books  and  journals  were  placed  on 
white  wooden  shelves  fastened  to  the  wall.  Later 
on  we  shall  see  what  use  the  prisoner  made  of  one  of 
these  shelves.  Comte  de  Re'musat,  Minister  of  the 
Interior,  gave  an  order  for  six  hundred  francs  to 
make  some  absolutely  necessary  repairs,  and  an  allow- 
ance of  seven  francs  apiece  was  made  for  the  daily 


254  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

nourishment  of  the  captives.  Their  cooking  was 
done  by  the  gate-keeper,  who  served  as  sutler.  The 
Prince  wore  either  a  military  cloak  and  foraging  cap, 
or  a  blue  frock  coat  and  red  kepi  trimmed  with  gilt 
braid.  He  rose  every  morning  at  six,  and  worked 
until  breakfast,  that  is,  until  ten  o'clock.  He 
walked  for  some  minutes  on  the  ramparts  after  that, 
and  then  resumed  his  work  until  the  dinner  hour. 
In  the  evenings  he  played  whist  or  chess  with  Gen- 
eral de  Montholon  and  Dr.  Conneau.  Every  Sunday 
the  cure*  of  Ham  came  to  say  Mass  in  room  No.  1, 
on  the  ground  floor,  which  served  as  a  chapel.  From 
the  upper  part  of  his  windows,  which  were  barred 
and  very  close  to  the  ramparts,  the  vicinity  of  which 
intercepted  both  air  and  daylight,  the  Prince  per- 
ceived a  line  of  curtains  the  summit  of  which  was 
gained  by  sodded  parapets.  In  the  middle  of  the 
court,  as  if  by  some  irony  of  fate,  there  was  a  liberty 
tree,  planted  in  1793  by  a  member  of  the  Convention 
(Bourdon  de  l'Oise). 

Louis  Napoleon  at  first  complained  rather  sharply 
of  the  conditions  made  for  him.  He  wrote  to  M. 
Vieillard,  May  22,  1841:  "During  the  nine. months 
I  have  passed  in  the  hands  of  the  French  Govern- 
ment, I  have  patiently  submitted  to  its  mean  treat- 
ment of  every  description ;  however,  I  will  no  longer 
maintain  a  silence  which  might  seem  to  indicate 
acquiescence  in  the  oppressive  measures  of  which  I 
am  the  object.  .  .  . 

"  I  should  have  nothing  to  complain  of  in  the  Gov- 


THE  FORTRESS  OF  HAM  255 

ernment's  treating  me  as  an  enemy  and  depriving 
me  of  the  means  to  harm  it,  but  its  conduct  will  be 
inconsistent  if  it  treats  me  as  an  ordinary  prisoner, 
—  me,  the  son  of  a  king,  the  nephew  of  an  emperor, 
and  connected  with  all  the  sovereigns  of  Europe. 
"During  the  first  months  of  my  captivity  every 
kind  of  communication  with  the  outer  world  was 
interdicted,  and  inside  the  prison  I  was  constrained 
to  the  completest  isolation.  Now  that  several  per- 
sons have  been  authorized  to  see  me,  these  restrictive 
measures  on  the  inside  can  have  no  further  object, 
and  yet  it  is  when  they  have  become  useless  that  an 
effort  is  made  to  augment  them.  Everything  which 
is  intended  for  my  personal  use  is  daily  subjected  to 
the  minutest  examination.  .  .  .  Such  a  system  of 
terrorism  has  been  put  in  operation  in  the  garrison 
and  among  the  employees  of  the  chateau  that  no  one 
dare  lift  his  eyes  to  me ;  a  man  needs  a  great  deal  of 
courage  to  be  simply  polite.  How  could  it  be  other- 
wise when  a  glance  is  considered  a  crime  and  those 
who  would  like  to  ameliorate  my  captivity  without 
failing  in  their  duty  are  denounced  to  the  authori- 
ties and  threatened  with  losing  their  positions  ?  In 
the  midst  of  Fiance,  which  my  family  has  made  so 
great,  I  am  treated  like  an  excommunicated  person 
of  the  thirteenth  century.  In  a  myriad  ways,  too 
many  to  enumerate,  they  seem  to  be  trying  to  make 
me  feel  my  captivity  every  minute  of  the  day,  and 
to  re-echo  that  mournful  and  incessant  cry:  Woe  to 
the  vanquished ! " 


256  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

The  conclusion  of  the  letter  was  as  follows :  "  The 
treatment  I  receive  is  at  once  unjust,  illegal,  and 
inhuman.  If  they  think  to  conquer  me  in  this  way, 
thej  are  mistaken.  It  is  not  outrage  but  kindness 
which  subjugates  the  hearts  of  those  who  know  how 
to  suffer." 

Such  complaints  were  exaggerated.  If  one  con- 
siders the  matter  from  the  Government's  point  of 
view,  one  must,  in  fact,  recognize  that  the  authori- 
ties of  Ham  did  not  take  too  many  precautions 
against  the  prisoner,  but  too  few.  With  a  stricter 
surveillance  his  escape  would  have  been  impossible. 
It  must  be  admitted  that  Louis  Napoleon  was  treated 
with  consideration.  His  two  best  friends,  General 
de  Montholon  and  Dr.  Conneau,  were  left  with  him, 
as  well  as  an  absolutely  loyal  servant,  Charles 
Thelin.  The  latter  was  permitted  to  leave  the  for- 
tress and  take  walks  in  the  city.  A  large  number 
of  persons  were  authorized  to  visit  the  Prince :  MM. 
Louis  Blanc,  Laity,  Vieillard,  Fouquier  d'He'rouel, 
Degeorges,  Calixte  Souplet,  Pauger,  Capo  de  Feuil- 
lide,  Poggioli,  Baron  Larrey,  Lord  Malmesbury,  Sir 
Robert  Peel,  Lady  Cramford,  etc. 

The  prisoner  was  able  to  correspond  with  several 
provincial  journals,  in  which  he  published  a  great 
many  political  articles.  He  was  allowed  to  have  a 
garden  of  some  forty  yards  on  the  rampart  leading 
to  the  grand  tower,  in  which  he  cultivated  flowers. 
It  was  apropos  of  this  that  he  wrote  to  M.  Vieillard, 
February  20,  1841:  "Gardening  is  what  occupies  me 


THE  FORTRESS   OF  HAM  257 

a  good  deal  jusl  now.  I  have  a  little  piece  of  ground 
on  one  of  the  curtains,  in  which  I  am  planting  hardy 
seeds  and  shrubs.  The  pleasure  which  I  find  in 
removing  cubes  of  earth  some  yards  makes  me  think 
that  our  nature  has  many  resources  and  consolations 
unknown  to  those  who  are  always  happy.  When 
we  lose  one  sense,  Providence  has  ordained  that  we 
shall  be  compensated  for  its  loss  by  the  perfection 
attained  by  those  we  have  left.  So  one  who  has  lost 
his  liberty  finds  inside  his  prison  walls,  within  his 
narrow  atmosphere,  sources  of  delight  which,  when 
free,  he  trampled  indiscriminately  under  foot,  germs 
of  pain  as  well  as  germs  of  pleasure."  The  inhabi- 
tants of  Ham  were  always  asking  the  Prince  for 
bouquets  from  his  garden,  and  the  Prince  took  pleas- 
ure in  sending  them.  It  was  from  the  highest  part 
of  this  garden,  which  reached  as  far  as  the  great 
tower  and  overlooked  the  country,  that  the  Prince 
looked  down  upon  the  passers-by,  and  was  seen  from 
below  by  many  persons  who  were  interested  in  his 
fate.  Thus  it  was  that  nearly  all  detachments  of 
troops  passing  through  the  city  of  Ham  halted  at  the 
foot  of  the  fortress  to  look  at  and  salute  the  prisoner. 

Louis  Napoleon  was  also  permitted  to  buy  a  horse 
and  ride  a  little  within  the  court.  He  amused  him- 
self by  galloping  at  full  speed  up  the  glacis  and 
stopping  suddenly  on  the  summit  of  the  ramparts,  on 
the  very  edge  of  the  precipice ;  and  the  boldness  of 
the  rider  aroused  the  admiration  of  the  promenaders. 

Louis  Napoleon  distributed  much  alms  among  the 


258  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

poor  of  Ham,  and  was  on  excellent  terms  with  the 
curd  of  the  town,  who  was  the  medium  of  his  boun- 
ties. M.  Hachet-Souplet  relates  that  the  Prince 
frequently  offered  collations  on  Thursdays  to  board- 
ing-school children,  under  an  enormous  lime  tree, 
which  has  become  legendary.  He  even  went  so  far 
as  to  distribute  medals  among  them  representing 
patriotic  allegories.  But  the  rector  of  the  academy 
of  Amiens  disapproved  of  this ;  and  going  to  Ham, 
he  scolded  roundly  the  principals  of  institutions  who 
had  tolerated  the  accomplishment  of  such  a  crime. 
It  may  be  said  that,  during  his  captivity,  the  future 
Emperor  developed  all  those  instincts  of  a  conspirator 
which  characterized  him  by  nature.  He  tried  to 
captivate  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  begin- 
ning with  the  commandant  of  the  fortress.  By  his 
gentleness,  affability,  simplicity,  and  extreme  polite- 
ness he  made  friends  of  his  very  jailers.  According 
to  M.  Fernand  Girandeau,  the  soldiers  detailed  to 
guard  him,  who  were  forbidden  to  speak  to,  salute,  or 
stand  up  in  his  presence,  contrived  means  of  secretly 
displaying  their  sympathy;  several  even  offered  to 
facilitate  his  escape.  Every  week  the  sentry  boxes 
had  to  be  washed  to  efface  inscriptions  of,  "Long 
live  Napoleon!"  "Long  live  the  Emperor!"  which 
some  seditious  but  anonymous  crayon  had  chalked 
there  during  the  night.  Hence  the  little  garrison 
at  the  fort  had  often  to  be  changed.  One  might  say 
that  the  prisoner  took  more  pains  to  conciliate  the 
sympathies   of  his   keepers,   and  the   soldiers,  and 


THE  FORTRESS  OF  HAM  259 

inhabitants  of  the  city  of   Ham  than  he  did  after- 
wards to  possess  himself  of  France. 

General  de  Montholon  had  obtained  permission  for 
his  wife  to  live  with  him  in  the  fortress.  There  it 
was  that  their  son,  Comte  de  Montholon,  at  present 
the  minister  of  France  at  Brussels,  was  born.  The 
latter  has  inherited  from  his  father  several  objects 
pertaining  to  the  captivity  of  Ham:  a  small  bronze 
timepiece  with  a  gilded  dial,  representing  Time  with 
his  sickle,  with  the  words :  "  Louis-Napoleon,  Ham, 
1841,"  inscribed  with  a  penknife  on  the  lower  part; 
two  little  chandeliers  and  two  small  bronze  cups 
which  ornamented  the  Prince's  chimney-piece;  and 
the  inkstand  he  used  in  writing  all  his  letters  and 
works  when  in  prison.  Still  more  curious  is  a  sepia 
drawing  representing  the  fortress  from  the  side  of 
the  entrance  door,  and  signed:  "Napoleon  L.  B. 
1840."  In  addition  to  these  are  the  following 
sketches  made  by  General  de  Montholon,  who  had  a 
very  pretty  talent  as  a  draughtsman:  bird's-eye  view 
of  the  fortress  (1842);  bastion  of  the  Constable  de 
Saint-Pol's  tower  (the  dungeon);  salon  and  bedroom 
of  the  Prince ;  garden  made  and  cultivated  by  him ; 
bedroom  of  the  general ;  salon  of  his  wife.  Are  not 
these  drawings  the  best  illustrations  of  a  captivity 
whose  scenes  they  reproduce  with  such  exactness? 
This  captivity,  which  lasted  the  same  time  as  that  of 
Saint  Helena,  is  assuredly  far  less  pathetic,  far  less 
poetic,  but  it  too  has  its  interest.  The  prisoner  of 
Saint  Helena  converted  his  rock  into  the  pedestal  of 


260  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

a  gigantic  glory,  he  resumed  there  the  dazzling  sou- 
venirs of  his  past.  The  prisoner  of  Ham  made  a 
place  of  meditation  and  study  of  his  prison,  a  uni- 
versity, as  he  said  himself,  in  which  he  silently  com- 
pleted his  education  and  prepared  his  political  future. 
The  captivity  of  Saint  Helena  is  an  epilogue,  that  of 
Ham  a  prologue. 


CHAPTER   XXV 

THE  LETTERS   FROM  HAM 

T  OUIS  NAPOLEON  wrote  a  great  deal.  We 
■*-^  shall  glance  over  his  correspondence  in  the 
first  place,  and  then  at  the  newspaper  articles  and 
works  which  he  published  during  his  captivity. 
Buffon's  remark:  "The  style  is  the  man,"  applies 
very  well  to  the  Prince,  and  his  correspondence 
makes  one  comprehend  his  character,  his  ideas,  his 
hopes  and  illusions,  his  medley  of  practical  thoughts 
and  dreams,  of  sadness  and  of  concentrated  enthu- 
siasm. 

In  1841,  the  prisoner  seemed  resigned  to  his  fate. 
He  wrote  to  a  great  English  lady,  January  13 :  "  Here 
I  am  in  my  place ;  with  the  name  I  bear  I  need  either 
the  darkness  of  a  dungeon  or  the  light  of  power." 
And  on  August  14 :  "  My  life  goes  on  here  in  a  very 
monotonous  way,  because  the  rigors  of  authority  are 
always  the  same ;  yet  I  cannot  say  that  I  feel  dull, 
because  I  have  created  occupations  which  interest 
me.  I  am  writing  reflections  on  English  history, 
and  besides,  I  have  planted  a  little  garden  in  one 
corner  of  my  retreat.  ...     I  make  no  complaint  of 

261 


262  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

the  position  I  have  created,  and  I  resign  myself  to  it 
completely." 

The  same  note  of  resignation  appears  again  in  the 
letter  addressed  to  M.  Vieillard,  December  17,  1841: 
"  The  year  is  almost  over.  Receive  my  best  wishes 
for  1842.  I  wish  both  you  and  Madame  Vieillard 
all  that  a  friend  desires  for  a  friend.  As  for  me,  I 
do  not  complain ;  I  have  no  right  to  accuse  fate ;  my 
misfortunes  are  my  own  work,  and  to  deplore  them 
would  be  to  revolt  against  myself." 

The  prisoner  accepted  his  situation  calmly,  but  he 
remained  convinced  that  his  prison  was  the  vestibule 
of  the  Tuileries,  and  adhered  to  his  plans  with  a 
tenacity  that  nothing  could  discourage.  This  is 
what  he  wrote  to  M.  Vieillard,  June  10,  1842:  "You 
say  I  try  to  further  my  cause  by  puerile  efforts. 
Good  heavens!  success  depends  upon  a  number  of 
infinitesimals  which  only  at  the  very  end  attain  a 
body  and  count  for  something.  If  you  saw  a  man 
abandoned,  alone  in  a  desert  island,  you  would  say 
to  him:  'Don't  try  to  make  a  skiff  out  of  tree- 
trunks,  which  would  founder  in  a  storm;  wait  till 
chance  brings  a  liberating  vessel. '  I  would  say  to 
him:  'Use  all  your  endeavors  to  create  instruments 
with  which  you  may  succeed  in  building  a  vessel. 
This  occupation  will  sustain  your  moral  force,  and 
you  will  always  have  an  aim  before  you.  This  will 
develop  your  faculties  by  the  obstacles  you  have  to 
overcome ;  if  you  succeed,  it  will  prove  that  you  are 
superior  to  destiny.     When  your  vessel  is  finished, 


THE  LETTERS  FROM  HAM  263 

enter  it  boldly.  If  you  succeed  in  reaching  the  con- 
tinent, you  will  owe  your  success  to  nobody  but 
yourself.  If  you  succumb,  well,  you  will  have  met 
a  better  end  than  if  you  had  allowed  yourself  to  be 
devoured  by  wild  animals  or  by  the  enemy. '  No, 
there  is  nothing  puerile  in  efforts  when  they  always 
proceed  from  the  same  motive  and  always  tend 
towards  the  same  end." 

In  this  curious  letter,  the  Prince  defends  his  con- 
duct since  1832.  He  recalls  the  fact  that  at  this 
epoch  he  wrote  a  pamphlet  on  Switzerland  in  order 
to  gain  the  good  opinion  of  those  with  whom  he  was 
obliged  to  live ;  that  afterwards,  during  nearly  three 
years,  he  applied  himself  to  a  work  on  artillery,  in 
order  thus  to  win  some  hearts  in  the  army ;  that  this 
permitted  him  to  attempt  the  Strasburg  expedition ; 
that  he  had  the  Laity  pamphlet  published  so  as  to 
give  the  French  Government  a  pretext  for  banishing 
him  from  Switzerland;  that  his  expulsion  restored 
his  moral  independence,  which  he  had  in  a  manner 
lost  by  a  forced  restoration  to  liberty ;  that  in  Lon- 
don, contrary  to  everybody's  advice,  he  had  published 
the  IdSes  Napol^oniennes,  in  order  to  formulate  the 
programme  of  his  party  and  to  prove  that  he  was  not 
merely  an  "adventurous  hussar";  that  by  means  of 
the  newspapers  he  had  tried  to  prepare  the  public 
mind  for  the  event  of  Boulogne,  but  that  this  was 
not  the  business  of  editors,  who  merely  want  to  make 
their  living  by  controversy,  while  he  wished  to  make 
it  serve  him. 


264  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 


"Boulogne,"  adds  the  Prince,  "was  a  frightful 
catastrophe  for  me,  but  after  all  I  retrieve  it  by  that 
interest  which  always  attaches  to  misfortune,  and 
that  elasticity  inherent  in  all  national  causes  which, 
although  frequently  compromised  by  events,  resume 
their  first  position  in  course  of  time." 

An  inveterate  conspirator,  thoroughly  resolved  on 
conspiring  again,  he  does  not  repent  of  a  single  one 
of  his  enterprises,  and  even  felicitates  himself  on  his 
defeats :  — 

"But  in  fine  what  results  from  all  this  series  of 
petty  feats  and  petty  pains  ?  An  immense  thing  for 
me.  In  1832,  the  Emperor  and  his  son  were  dead. 
There  were  no  longer  any  heirs  of  the  imperial  cause. 
France  did  not  know  a  single  one.  Several  Bona- 
partes  made  their  appearance,  it  is  true,  here  and 
there  in  the  background  of  the  world's  stage,  like 
bodies  without  life,  petrified  mummies  or  imponder- 
able phantoms;  but  for  the  people  the  line  was 
broken;  all  the  Bonapartes  were  dead.  Well,  I 
have  reunited  the  thread ;  I  have  come  to  life  by  my- 
self and  by  my  own  strength,  and  to-day  I  am  twenty 
leagues  from  Paris,  a  sword  of  Damocles  for  the 
Government." 

Louis  Napoleon  accuses  M.  Vieillard  of  being  too 
prudent,  too  timorous.  "Do  you  know,"  he  says  in 
the  same  letter,  "  the  difference  between  you  and  me 
in  the  appreciation  of  certain  things  ?  It  is  that  you 
proceed  with  method  and  calculation.  For  me,  I 
have  the  faith  which  makes  one  support  everything 


THE  LETTERS  FROM  HAM  265 

with  resignation,  which  makes  one  spurn  domestic 
joys,  which  almost  every  one  desires ;  that  faith,  in 
tine,  which  alone  is  able  to  remove  mountains." 

Speaking  afterwards  of  his  political  writings,  the 
Prince  adds :  — 

"  I  admit  without  hesitation  that  there  are  writers 
cleverer  than  I.  But  ask  Bastide,  Louis  Blanc, 
George  Sand,  all  of  them  in  fact,  if  in  developing 
their  political  ideas  they  have  ever  affected  their 
readers  to  tears.  Eh!  well,  I  am  sure  that  such  a 
thing  has  never  happened,  whereas  I  have  seen,  and 
seen  a  thousand  times,  that  my  writings  have  pro- 
duced that  result.  And  why?  Because  the  Na- 
poleonic cause  goes  to  the  heart;  it  stirs,  it  awakens 
palpitating  souvenirs,  and  it  is  always  by  the  heart 
that  one  moves  the  masses,  never  by  cold  reason. 
To  sum  up,  I  am  going  to  commence  my  review,  and 
I  count  on  you  as  my  rirst  subscriber." 

A  journalist  by  temperament  and  calculation, 
Louis  Napoleon  in  his  captivity  was  incessantly 
thinking  of  the  power  of  the  press  and  the  services 
he  expected  from  it. 

In  1844  the  Prince  had  a  curious  correspondence 
with  a  very  honorable  republican,  M.  Peauger,  which 
has  been  published  by  the  latter's  son,  M.  Marc 
Peauger.  The  object  of  this  correspondence  was 
the  purchase  or  founding  of  Parisian  journals;  it 
shows  the  tactics  employed  by  Louis  Napoleon  in  his 
attempts  to  win  the  democrats. 

He  wrote  March  9,  1844:  "Brought  up  in  demo- 


266  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

cratic  sentiments  from  the  time  when  I  arrived  at 
the  age  of  reflection,  I  admired  the  head  of  my  family 
not  merely  as  a  great  captain,  but  above  all  as  the 
glorious  representative  of  the  French  Revolution. 
I  saw  then  but  two  distinct  causes  in  Europe,  —  that 
which  was  victorious  July  14,  1789,  and  that  which 
triumphed  June  18,  1815.  .  .  .  To-day  the  ques- 
tion is  the  same  for  me ;  I  see  only  the  vanquished 
and  the  victors  of  Waterloo. 

"  Convinced  that  the  actual  Government  will  make 
France  unhappy,  I  have  resolved  to  do  all  in  my 
power  to  overthrow  it,  although  determined  to  allow 
the  entire  people  afterwards  to  choose  the  form  of 
government  which  will  suit  them  best.  The  r61e  of 
liberator  satisfies  my  ambition,  and  I  am  not  fool 
enough  to  expect  to  found  a  dynasty  on  a  soil  strewn 
with  all  the  de'bris  of  those  that  are  past.  At  pres- 
ent I  neither  have  nor  can  have  any  other  ambition 
than  that  of  recovering  my  rights  as  a  French  citizen. 
Nevertheless,  if  my  fellow  citizens  should  believe  in 
my  name  as  a  useful  standard  to  oppose  to  feudal 
Europe,  I  should  be  glad  and  proud  to  represent  the 
greatest  nation  of  the  world,  and  to  do  all  in  my 
power  to  assure  its  prosperity.  But  these  dreams 
belong  to  the  future;  the  Government  triumphs  by 
the  divisions  of  its  enemies,  and  so  long  as  these 
divisions  subsist  it  can  trifle  with  the  greatest  inter- 
ests of  the  country  with  impunity." 

Even  while  seeking  reconciliation  with  the  repub- 
licans, the  Prince  did  not  share  the  admiration  enter- 


THE  LETTERS  FROM  HAM  267 

tained  by  some  among  them  for  the  terrorists.  We 
quote  the  following  passage  from  one  of  his  letters  to 
M.  Peauger,  bearing  date  September  8,  1844:  "In 
general,  history  can  absolve  the  absolute  and  terrible 
government  which  sheds  the  blood  of  the  guilty,  but 
that  which  sheds  innocent  blood  ought  to  be  de- 
stroyed. I  cannot  help  thinking  that  if  Robespierre 
had  lived  two  days  longer,  the  head  of  my  grand- 
mother, the  Empress  Josephine,  the  best  of  women, 
must  have  rolled  upon  the  scaffold.  One  might 
claim  that  the  Saint  Bartholomew  massacre  saved 
French  unity;  and  yet,  who  would  dare  boast  of 
Charles  IX.  ?  I  am  by  no  means  of  the  opinion  that 
injustice  and  cruelty  have  ever  been  good  auxilia- 
ries. An  unjust  action  sooner  or  later  produces  an 
equally  unjust  reaction." 

In  another  letter  to  M.  Peauger  (September  30, 
1844),  Louis  Napoleon  said  that  an  openly  Napole- 
onic journal  would  not  succeed,  because,  according 
to  the  Prince,  "  a  knife  must  be  offered  by  the  handle 
and  not  the  blade  " ;  the  thing  would  be  to  found  a 
journal  of  the  extreme  left,  which  should  ally  demo- 
cratic ideas  to  the  souvenirs  of  the  Empire.  That 
was  why  he  had  written  on  June  6  of  the  same  year 
to  M.  Ledru-Rollin :  "  I  should  be  happy  to  have  as 
representative  a  man  whose  political  convictions  are 
so  intimately  allied  to  mine."  He  declared  himself 
to  be  in  community  of  ideas  with  so  fervent  a  repub- 
lican as  M.  Peauger,  saying  to  him  in  a  letter  dated 
February  3,  1845 :  "  Now  that  I  have  in  you  a  man 


268  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

capable  of  fertilizing  them,  I  often  despair  at  having 
no  longer  at  my  disposal  the  resources  I  formerly- 
possessed.  Heretofore  I  have  always  lacked  men; 
now  I  lack  means.  But  I  believe  in  fatality.  If  my 
body  has  miraculously  escaped  all  dangers,  if  my 
soul  has  risen  above  so  many  causes  of  discourage- 
ment, it  is  because  I  am  called  to  accomplish  some- 
thing." 

The  letters  we  have  just  cited  have  shown  us 
Louis  Napoleon  the  politician,  the  conspirator,  the 
publicist.  Those  which  are  to  follow  represent  the 
dreamy,  melancholy,  poetic  side  of  his  character. 
They  were  addressed  in  1844  to  a  Frenchwoman,  the 
daughter  of  a  former  prefect  of  the  Empire,  who  lived 
in  Florence,  where  King  Louis  often  saw  her.  On 
the  5th  of  May,  anniversary  of  the  death  of  the  Em- 
peror Napoleon,  she  had  written  a  letter  to  the 
Prince  which  deeply  affected  him.  Here  is  his 
response,  dated  May  6,   1844:  — 

"Madame,  I  received  yesterday  the  letter  you 
have  deigned  to  write  me;  like  its  predecessor,  it 
has  come  amidst  the  sad  memories  of  a  sad  anni- 
versary to  awaken  hope  and  say  to  me :  All  is  not 
over,  since  there  is  still  a  noble  and  lofty  heart 
which  is  interested  in  thee .!  —  You  do  not  know, 
you  cannot  comprehend,  the  effect  produced  upon 
me  by  your  letters.  How  describe  it  to  you  ?  I  will 
resort  to  a  comparison.  You  have  doubtless  seen  a 
fine  English  engraving  which  represents  Our  Lord 
walking  upon  the  waves  and  reanimating  with  a 


THE  LETTERS  FROM  HAM  269 

glance  the  courage  of  one  of  His  apostles  who  is 
about  to  disappear  in  the  abyss:  'Come  on,'  He  says 
to  him;  'faith  saves.'  —  Ah!  well,  your  sweet  inter- 
vention in  the  midst  of  my  solitude  produces  the 
same  effect ;  at  your  voice  I  have  felt  my  heart  re- 
vive, and  the  atmosphere  of  my  prison,  which  the 
indifference  and  hostility  of  my  family  sometimes 
render  so  heavy,  seems  lighter  to  me.  I  rise  up 
again;  a  ray  of  hope  has  shone  into  my  soul,  and  I 
feel  transported  into  another  world. " 

Louis  Napoleon  was  bent,  moreover,  on  making  it 
clear  that  misfortune  had  been  unable  to  master  him 
or  break  his  force  of  character.  "Still,  Madame," 
he  adds,  "do  not  believe  that  I  am  discouraged. 
No;  there  are  in  me  two  beings,  the  politician  and 
the  private  man ;  the  politician  is  and  will  remain 
unshaken;  hatred,  calumny,  captivit}',  will  not 
wrench  from  him  one  complaint,  one  sigh;  but  the 
private  man,  when  his  turn  comes,  is  very  unhappy. 
Abandoned  by  all  the  world,  by  his  old  friends,  his 
family,  even  by  his  father,  he  often  succumbs  to  his 
memories  and  regrets ;  he  sees  himself  buried  alive 
while  still  young;  he  would  like  to  go  out,  to  act,  to 
love,  and  all  is  forbidden  him,  save  thought;  hence 
he  uses,  he  abuses  even,  his  sole  remaining  faculty." 

The  sentimental  man  reveals  himself  wholly  in 
these  lines:  "I  hardly  know  you,  Madame,  but  the 
memory  of  you  is  linked  with  that  of  the  being 
whom  I  loved  most  in  all  the  world,  my  poor  brother. 
How  then  should  I  not  love  you  ?    Then,  too,  when 


270  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

everybody,  except  perhaps  the  soldiers  who  guard 
me,  displays  indifference,  you  come  to  heal  one  of 
my  deepest  wounds  by  restoring  to  me  the  affection 
of  my  father.  Why  not  believe  in  a  secret  sym- 
pathy which  communicates  itself  at  great  distances, 
like  the  electric  fluid  ?  For  my  part,  I  believe  in 
all  that  I  experience,  and  even  in  all  that  pleases 
and  elevates  my  soul.  Yes,  I  am  sure  that  you  com- 
prehend the  sentiments  which  have  guided  my  past 
actions,  and  that  you  render  justice,  if  not  to  the 
deeds,  at  least  to  the  intentions.  Ordinary  people 
neither  see  nor  approve  anything  but  success ;  lofty 
minds  scrutinize  chiefly  the  morality  of  the  aim,  and 
then  they  often  accord  a  few  tears,  a  few  consola- 
tions, to  the  vanquished."  The  Prince  terminates 
his  letter  thus :  "  If  you  do  not  answer  me,  it  will 
be  because  I  have  displeased  you,  because  I  have 
deceived  myself;  it  will  be  another  illusion  which 
I  shall  have  lost!  But  it  will  not  be  so;  your  heart 
is  too  generous  not  to  bear  with  the  abiding  griefs, 
the  fleeting  joys,  of  those  who  suffer." 

The  28th  of  the  following  September,  the  Prince 
addressed  a  still  more  sentimental  letter  to  the  same 
lady:  "It  appears  that  happiness,  like  misfortune, 
is  often  at  our  door  without  our  suspecting  it ;  you 
have  been  on  the  point  of  coming  to  see  me,  you 
say,  and  I  was  unaware  of  your  near  presence,  and 
of  your  intention,  and  of  your  sympathy.  But  alas ! 
you  did  not  come,  and  unhappiness  alone  has 
entered  my  prison.     I  hope  that  if  a  similar  cir- 


THE  LETTERS  FROM  HAM  271 

curastance  ever  presents  itself,  you  will  not  listen 
again  to  the  counsels  of  your  all-powerful  relative 
[M.  Thiers].  Believe  me,  the  all-powerful  have 
no  generosity.  One  needs  to  wear  a  halo  in  order 
to  please  them ;  and  they  were  unable  to  appreciate 
your  noble  decision  to  make  yourself,  morally  speak- 
ing, a  sister  of  charity.  You  would  like  to  send 
me  the  air  you  breathe ;  and  certainly,  it  would  be 
the  finest  present  you  could  make  me;  for,  do  you 
see,  although  I  scarcely  know  you,  I  love  you  ten- 
derly. That  is  stupid,  you  will  say,  and  perhaps 
you  are  right.  But  so  it  is.  Your  face,  which  is 
lost  in  the  vagueness  of  my  memory,  is  always 
present  to  my  eyes.  I  think,  I  dream  of  you. 
Why?  Ah!  I  beg  you  not  to  ask  so  prosaic  a  ques- 
tion. Do  we  know  why  then  ?  the  why  of  all  our 
sensations  ?  Do  you  know  why  the  dove,  torn  from 
its  nest  and  carried  to  a  distant  country,  finds  in 
the  air  the  road  that  leads  it  back  to  its  birthplace  ? 
Do  you  know  why  you  yourself  feel  transported  by 
a  sentiment  of  sweet  beatitude  on  beholding  from 
a  mountain  the  laughing  valleys  and  the  horizon 
losing  itself  in  mist?  I  understand  happiness 
almost  as  you  do ;  to  command  in  order  to  do  good, 
or  to  obey  what  one  loves,  this,  for  a  man,  is  true 
felicity."  The  imagination  of  the  prisoner  is  ex- 
cited by  this  dream  of  love  and  glory.  Then  he 
relapses  into  melancholy,  and  his  heart  grows  tender: 
"  How  often,  when  wandering  over  the  mountains 
of   Switzerland,    and   enraptured   by   the    spectacle 


272  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

before  my  eyes,  have  I  not  wished  for  some  one,  or 
rather  for  some  woman,  who  would  share  my  im- 
pressions and  identify  herself  with  all  my  being! 
How  often,  in  the  midst  of  London  crowds,  have 
I  not  found  myself  more  isolated  than  on  the  rocks 
of  Switzerland ! "  It  is  no  longer  the  poet  but  the 
lover  who  speaks :  "  When  from  the  summit  of  the 
blue  hills  surrounding  Florence,  at  the  close  of  a 
lovely  day,  you  look  down  upon  that  city  scattered 
throughout  the  valley  of  the  Arno,  when  you  fix 
your  gaze  on  the  horizon,  a  point  that  always  charms 
us  because  it  is  vague,  indefinite,  poetic,  like  our 
future,  then  think  of  me,  and  remember  that  there 
is  a  loving,  respectful,  and  loyal  soul  that  breaks  its 
bonds,  crosses  the  Alps  and  Apennines,  and  flies  to 
you  whenever  summoned  by  memory.  A  story  is 
told  of  two  palm  trees,  one  of  which,  planted  near 
Taranto,  scattered  the  dust  from  its  flowers  upon 
the  wind,  which  carried  it  to  the  other,  vegetating 
on  the  shores  of  Greece;  and  this  aerial  correspon- 
dence sufficed  to  vivify,  sustain,  and  yearly  renew 
their  leafage,  withered  by  the  sun.  I  always 
laughed  at  this  story;  to-day  I  believe  in  it, 
because  it  touches  me." 

In  this  correspondence  there  is  a  continual  blend- 
ing of  exaltation  and  depression.  The  prisoner 
writes  to  the  same  woman,  February  15,  1845:  "I 
have  moments  of  discouragement  so  painful  that  I 
have  not  strength  enough  left  to  write.  So  many 
causes  of  chagrin  have  been  added  to  my  griefs.     I 


THE  LETTERS  FROM  HAM  273 

have  lost  ray  fortune  and  my  friends;  all  whom  I 
loved  have  given  themselves  to  others,  and  I  remain 
alone  without  other  impressions  than  that  of  a  vague 
and  uncertain  hope."  Another  impassioned  letter 
on  the  3d  of  the  succeeding  March :  "  I  detest  those 
mediocre  natures  which  are  never  gay  or  sad,  because 
they  feel  nothing  keenly;  they  vegetate,  they  do  not 
live.  .  .  .  Although  I  do  not  budge,  the  world 
turns  around  me,  and  I  own  to  you  that  one  of  the 
ideas  that  torments  me  most  is  to  think  that  I  may 
never  see  you  again." 

Louis  Napoleon  did  see  again  the  woman  to  whom 
he  wrote  these  sentimental  letters.  She  visited  him 
in  prison  in  August,  1845.  "Madame,"  he  wrote 
her  on  October  2,  "  it  is  eight  days  since  I  had  the 
happiness  of  being  with  you.  Your  appearance  has 
been  like  a  happy  dream  to  me,  but  only  like  a 
dream;  for  your  visit  was  so  short  that  I  had  scarcely 
time  enough  to  recover  from  the  emotion  it  produced, 
and  when  I  had  grown  calm  enough  to  enjoy  it,  you 
were  already  gone." 

What  specially  strikes  one  in  all  the  letters  we 
have  cited  is  the  ardent  soul  of  their  writer.  To 
look  at  his  impassive  face,  his  impenetrable  mask, 
his  imperturbable  coolness,  no  one  would  have 
suspected  all  the  passions  which  agitated  both  the 
politician  and  the  private  man.  By  nature  he  was 
a  volcano  hidden  beneath  a  glacier. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE  PRISONER'S   WRITINGS 

[  T  pleased  Napoleon  III.  to  say  that  the  prison  of 
Ham  had  been  his  university.  He  finished  his 
education  there,  studying  science,  history,  political 
economy,  and  transforming  himself  into  a  publicist 
and  even  a  journalist.  The  writings  of  the  prisoner 
are  very  numerous.  The  day  that  Napoleon's  re- 
mains were  brought  to  Paris,  February  15,  1840,  he 
composed  a  dithyramb  in  prose  entitled:  Aux  mdnes 
de  VJSmpereur !  "  Sire,  you  return  to  your  capital, 
and  the  people  of  France  hail  your  return ;  but  I, 
from  the  depths  of  my  prison,  cannot  perceive  a  ray 
of  the  sunlight  which  illuminates  your  obsequies! 
.  .  .  Montholon,  whom  you  loved  best  of  all  among 
your  devoted  companions,  who  paid  you  the  atten- 
tions of  a  son,  has  remained  faithful  to  your  memory 
and  your  last  wishes :  he  brought  me  your  last  words, 
and  he  is  with  me  in  prison ! 

"  A  French  vessel,  commanded  by  a  noble  young 
man,  went  to  reclaim  your  ashes;  but  you  would 
have  sought  in  vain  from  its  bridge  for  any  of  your 
kindred;  your  family  was  not  there!  .  .  .  The 
people  throng  as  of  old  upon  your  passage;   they 

274 


THE  PRISONER'S   WRITINGS  275 

salute  you  with  acclamations  as  if  you  were  living; 
but  the  nobles  of  the  day,  even  while  the}r  pay  you 
homage,  say  under  their  breath:  'God!  do  not 
awaken  him!  .  .  .' 

"Sire,  the  15th  of  December  is  a  great  day  for 
France  and  for  me.  From  the  midst  of  your  splen- 
did cortege,  disdaining  a  certain  kind  of  homage, 
you  have  glanced  for  a  moment  at  my  dark  abode, 
and  remembering  the  caresses  you  lavished  on  my 
childhood,  you  have  said  to  me:  'You  suffer  for  me, 
friend;  I  am  pleased  with  you.'  " 

In  1841,  the  Prince  wrote  a  study  on  English 
history  entitled:  Fragments  historigues,  1688  et  1830. 
In  the  preface,  dated  May  10,  he  thus  expressed 
himself:  "While  they  are  deifying  the  mortal  re- 
mains of  the  Emperor  in  Paris,  I,  his  nephew,  am 
buried  alive  in  a  narrow  enceinte;  but  I  laugh  at 
the  inconsequence  of  men,  and  thank  Heaven  for 
having  given  me  as  a  refuge,  after  so  many  bitter 
trials,  a  prison  on  French  soil.  Supported  by  an 
ardent  faith  and  a  pure  conscience,  I  clothe  myself 
with  resignation  as  a  garment,  and  am  consoled  for 
the  present  by  seeing  the  future  of  my  enemies 
written  in  indelible  characters  in  the  history  of  all 
peoples." 

The  study  concluded  as  follows :  — 

"  The  example  of  the  Stuarts  proves  that  foreign 
assistance  is  always  powerless  to  save  governments 
not  adopted  by  the  nation.  And  the  history  of  Eng- 
land says  loudly  to  kings:  March  ahead  of  the  ideas 


276  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

of  your  time,  and  these  ideas  will  follow  and  sup- 
port you.  March  behind  them,  and  they  will  drag 
you  along.  March  against  them,  and  they  will 
overthrow  you." 

In  August,  1842,  Louis  Napoleon  published  an 
Analyse  de  la  question  des  Sucres.  In  1843  he  pro- 
duced one  of  his  most  singular  writings.  This 
study,  which  was  entitled:  Be  V organisation  mili- 
taire  de  la  Prusse,  is  a  prophecy.  "It  no  longer 
suffices  nowadays,"  said  the  Prince,  "for  a  nation  to 
have  a  few  hundred  armed  cavaliers,  or  a  few  thou- 
sand mercenaries  and  adventurers  to  maintain  its 
rank  and  independence;  it  must  have  millions  of 
armed  men.  Prussia  has  14,330,000  inhabitants; 
its  army  numbers  145,000  men;  the  landwehr, 
385,000.  Thus  Prussia,  whose  population  is  only 
one-half  as  large  as  that  of  France,  can  raise  an  army 
of  530,000  drilled  men  to  defend  its  territory.  .  .  . 
The  Prussian  system  solves  the  problem  morally  and 
materially  too ;  for  this  organization  is  not  only  ad- 
vantageous from  the  military  point  of  view,  but  it 
also  merits  admiration  from  the  philosophic  side, 
because  it  destroys  all  barriers  between  the  citizen 
and  the  soldier,  and  elevates  the  mind  of  every  man 
by  making  him  comprehend  that  the  defence  of  the 
country  is  his  first  duty."  Louis  Napoleon  pro- 
posed an  army  of  200,000  men  for  France,  and  the 
creation  of  a  reserve  analogous  to  the  Prussian 
landwehr.  With  this  system  an  effective  force  of 
1,200,000  men  would  be  available  in  case  of  danger. 


THE  PRISONER'S   WRITINGS  277 

"France,"  said  the  Prince  in  concluding,  "would 
be  safe  from  any  invasion.  She  could  defy  the  uni- 
verse and  repeat  with  greater  justice  those  words  of 
the  haughty  Gauls:  'If  the  skies  fall,  we  will  hold 
them  up  on  the  points  of  our  spears.' "  It  is  really 
regrettable  that  the  Emperor  Napoleon  III.  did  not 
think  himself  able  to  carry  out  the  programme  of  the 
prisoner  of  Ham. 

In  1842  and  1843,  the  Prince  had  a  large  number 
of  unsigned  articles  inserted  in  two  republican  jour- 
nals, the  Progress  du  Pas-de-  Calais  and  the  Gruetteur 
of  Saiiit-Quentin,  whose  editors-in-chief,  MM. 
Fre'de'ric  Degeorges  and  Calixte  Souplet,  were  con- 
vinced and  honest  democrats.  The  first  of  these 
journals  made  this  avowal  in  its  issue  of  October  23, 
1843 :  "  It  is  no  longer  a  secret,  and  we  have  never 
made  a  mystery  of  it  to  any  one:  for  over  fifteen 
months  Prince  Louis  Napoleon  has  been  sending 
articles  from  his  prison  to  the  Progress  du  Pas-de- 
Calais."  These  articles  broached  a  multitude  of 
political  and  economic  questions  and  nearly  always 
contained  bitter  animadversions  on  the  Government 
of  July.  The  latter  finally  became  exasperated  and 
notified  the  two  journals  through  the  public  prosecu- 
tors that  their  printers'  certificate  would  be  with- 
drawn if  the  Prince's  collaboration  continued. 

Unable  longer  to  continue  his  r61e  as  a  journalist, 
the  prisoner  decided  to  publish,  in  1844,  a  sensa- 
tional brochure,  which  he  entitled:  Extinction  du 
paup6ri8me.     There   are   many  absurdities    in   this 


278  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

work,  but  it  is  very  curious,  because  the  author 
develops  in  it  the  principles  of  the  most  advanced 
socialism. 

In  the  preface  to  his  brochure  Louis  Napoleon  ex- 
pressed himself  thus:  "To  spread  comfort,  instruc- 
tion, and  morality  among  the  working  classes,  who 
are  the  majority,  is  to  extirpate  pauperism,  if  not 
altogether,  at  least  in  great  part.  Hence  to  propose 
a  means  capable  of  initiating  the  masses  into  all  the 
benefits  of  civilization,  is  to  dry  up  the  sources  of 
ignorance,  vice,  and  poverty.  Therefore  I  think  I 
may  without  boldness  retain  for  my  work  the  title  of 
Extinction  of  Pauperism.  I  deliver  my  reflections 
to  the  public  in  the  hope  that,  developed  and  put 
into  practice,  they  may  be  useful  for  the  solace  of 
humanity.  It  is  natural  in  misfortune  to  think  of 
those  who  suffer." 

The  author's  thesis  was  this:  "The  working 
classes  possess  nothing;  they  must  be  made  pro- 
prietors. They  have  no  riches  but  their  arms ;  these 
arms  must  be  given  an  occupation  useful  to  all. 
They  are  like  a  nation  of  helots  in  the  midst  of  a 
nation  of  sybarites ;  they  must  be  given  a  place  in 
society  and  their  interests  attached  to  those  of  the 
soil.  Finally,  they  are  without  organization,  with- 
out rights,  and  without  a  future ;  it  is  necessary  to 
give  them  rights  and  a  future,  and  to  elevate  them 
in  their  own  eyes  by  association,  education,  and 
discipline."  The  combination  proposed  toward  this 
end  is  the  creation  of  agricultural  colonies,  sugges- 


THE  PRISONER'S   WRITINGS  279 

tive  of  the  phr.lanstery  system.  "In  France,"  said 
the  Prince,  "there  are  9,190,000  hectares  of  unculti- 
vated land.  Let  the  Chambers  decree  that  all  these 
waste  lands  belong  by  right  to  the  workmen's  asso- 
ciation, reserving  an  annual  payment  to  the  present 
proprietors  equal  to  what  they  now  receive ;  let  them 
give  to  these  idle  hands  the  lands  which  are  likewise 
idle,  and  the  two  unproductive  capitals  will  recreate 
each  other  to  new  life.  The  agricultural  colonies 
once  created,  a  sort  of  intermediary  body  of  trades- 
men would  have  to  be  instituted  between  the  work- 
ing classes  and  the  capitalists.  From  the  profits  of 
each  establishment  a  sum  destined  to  create  an  indi- 
vidual share  for  each  workman  should  be  deducted 
in  the  first  place."  The  Prince  added:  "What 
would  be  needed  for  the  realization  of  such  a  proj- 
ect? One  year's  pay  of  the  army,  a  sum  equal  to 
that  employed  on  the  fortifications  of  Paris.  And 
this  advance  would  return  a  million  to  France  at 
the  end  of  twenty  years,  to  the  working  classes  eight 
hundred  millions,  to  the  treasury  thirty-seven  mill- 
ions !  Let  the  Government  put  this  idea  into  execu- 
tion, modifying  it  by  whatever  the  experience  of  men 
versed  in  these  complicated  matters  can  offer  in  the 
way  of  useful  hints  or  novel  views ;  let  it  cordially 
enter  into  all  great  national  interests  and  establish 
the  well-being  of  the  masses  upon  immovable  foun- 
dations, and  it  will  be  immovable  itself.  Poverty 
will  no  longer  be  seditious  when  opulence  is  no 
longer  oppressive."      The   brochure  terminated  by 


280  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

these  lines :  "  To-day  the  aim  of  every  capable  gov- 
ernment should  be  so  to  direct  its  efforts  that  men 
may  presently  say:  'The  triumph  of  Christianity 
destroyed  slavery ;  the  triumph  of  the  French  Revo- 
lution destroyed  serfdom ;  the  triumph  of  democratic 
ideas  has  destroyed  pauperism. '  " 

The  prisoner  of  Ham  ascended  the  throne,  and 
pauperism  has  not  become  extinct.  But  in  1844  his 
theories  were  received  in  the  democratic  camp  with 
a  certain  sympathy,  and  the  republic  of  Salente, 
which  the  imprisoned  Prince  dreamed  of  for  the 
working  men,  was  not  regarded  by  every  one  as  an 
Utopia.  George  Sand  wrote  at  the  time :  "  Speak  to 
us  often  of  deliverance  and  enfranchisement,  noble 
captive!  Like  you  the  people  is  in  irons.  The 
Napoleon  of  to-day  personifies  the  sufferings  of  a 
people,  as  the  other  personified  its  glories." 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

THE  END  OF  THE  CAPTIVITY 

T  OUIS  NAPOLEON  had  written,  April  18, 
-^  1843:  "If  to-day  they  opened  the  doors  of  my 
prison,  if  they  came  to  offer  to  change  my  present 
position  into  exile,  I  would  refuse  such  a  proposi- 
tion, for  to  me  it  would  be  an  aggravation  of  the 
penalty.  I  prefer  to  be  a  captive  on  French  soil 
rather  than  a  free  man  in  a  foreign  land."  In  1845 
the  prisoner  was  no  longer  of  the  same  mind,  and 
asked  to  be  set  at  liberty.  What  had  occurred  to 
cause  this  change  of  attitude?  Merely  that  King 
Louis,  who  was  very  ill,  had  expressed  a  wish  to  see 
his  son  before  his  death,  and  asked  him  to  come  to 
Florence. 

Louis  Napoleon  had  always  had  a  profound  venera- 
tion for  his  father.  The  old  King  had  never  spared 
him  either  severe  language  or  remonstrances.  He 
had  always  reproved  him  for  nourishing  himself  on 
vain  hopes,  and  had  blamed  his  escapades  of  Stras- 
burg  and  Boulogne  in  the  most  energetic  manner. 
But  for  all  that  the  young  Prince  had  remained  faith- 
ful to  the  duties  of  filial  piety.  His  father's  coldness 
was  an  affliction  for  which  he  could  not  be  consoled. 

281 


282  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

The  former  King  of  Holland  having  sometimes  in- 
sinuated that  his  son's  demonstrations  of  affection 
were  tainted  by  self-interest,  the  latter  indignantly- 
repelled  a  suspicion  against  which  his  whole  charac- 
ter protested.  He  wrote  to  his  correspondent  in 
Florence,  May  6,  1844:  "I  act  from  interest!  My 
God,  now  when  I  have  spent  nearly  all  my  fortune 
in  order  to  support  the  men  who  were  compromised 
by  me,  I  would  give  my  whole  existence  for  one 
caress  from  my  father.  Let  him  give  all  his  fortune 
to  Peter  or  Paul,  it  does  not  matter  to  me,  I  will 
work  for  my  living;  but  let  him  give  me  his  affec- 
tion ;  I  have  never  shown  myself  unworthy  of  it,  and 
I  need  affection.  There  are  many  men  who  can  get 
along  very  well  with  the  heart  empty  and  the  stomach 
full ;  but  my  heart  must  be  replenished,  my  stomach 
concerns  me  little." 

The  Prince  was  in  this  state  of  mind  when  he 
received  a  letter  from  his  father,  dated  August  18, 
1845,  which  influenced  his  destiny.  The  old  King 
expressed  himself  as  follows :  — 

"My  son,  you  deceive  yourself  strangely  if  you 
believe  me  indifferent  to  your  position  and  your 
sufferings.  Doubtless  I  am  unable  to  forget  that 
you  placed  yourself  in  this  position  out  of  mere 
wantonness,  but  I  suffer  from  your  sufferings 
because  I  had  hoped  for  some  solace  in  your  happi- 
ness, a  happiness  which  is  independent  of  all  the 
glories  of  life.  Moral  sufferings  have  reduced  me 
to  the  point  of  being  no  longer  able  to  stand  up- 


THE  END  OF  THE  CAPTIVITY  283 

right,  or  even  to  rise  from  my  chair  without  assist- 
ance, and  yet  I  have  no  one  who  can  assist  me.  I 
cannot  even  write  any  more,  and  you  will  see  from 
my  signature  how  I  can  sign.  I  have  taken  some 
measures  for  you,  but  it  is  only  too  probable  that 
they  will  be  useless,  like  all  that  have  been  attempted 
hitherto." 

King  Louis  had  sent  M.  Poggioli  from  Florence 
to  Paris  to  seek  the  good  offices  of  MM.  de  Montali- 
vet,  Decazes,  and  Mole\  hoping  that  the  Government 
of  King  Louis  Philippe  would  allow  the  prisoner  of 
Ham  to  go  to  his  father.  On  learning  this,  and 
receiving  the  letter  of  August  18,  Louis  Napoleon 
was  deeply  affected.  He  replied  thus :  "  Fortress  of 
Ham,  September  19,  1845. — My  dear  Father:  The 
first  real  joy  I  have  felt  in  five  years  I  experienced 
in  receiving  the  friendly  letter  you  were  so  kind  as 
to  write  me.  M.  Poggioli  succeeded  in  reaching 
me,  and  I  was  at  last  able  to  talk  with  some  one  who 
is  entirely  devoted  to  us,  and  who  saw  you  not  long 
ago.  How  happy  I  am  to  know  that  you  always 
retain  your  tenderness  for  me!  ...  I  am  of  your 
opinion,  my  father;  the  older  I  grow,  the  more  I 
perceive  the  void  around  me,  and  the  more  convinced 
I  am  that  the  only  happiness  in  this  world  consists 
in  the  reciprocal  affection  of  beings  created  to  love 
each  other.  What  has  touched  me,  affected  me 
most,  is  the  desire  you  manifest  to  see  me  again. 
To  me  this  desire  is  a  command,  and  henceforward  I 
will  do  all  that  depends  on  me  in  order  to  render 


284  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

possible  this  meeting,  which  I  thank  you  for  desir- 
ing. .  .  .  Even  the  day  before  yesterday  I  had 
determined  to  make  no  effort  to  leave  my  prison. 
For  where  should  I  go  ?  What  should  I  do,  alone 
again  in  foreign  lands,  far  from  my  own  people  ?  A 
grave  in  one's  native  land  is  better.  But  to-day  a 
new  hope  lights  up  my  horizon,  a  new  aim  presents 
itself  to  my  endeavors;  it  is  to  go  and  surround  you 
with  attentions  and  prove  to  you  that  if  for  the  last 
fifteen  years  many  things  have  come  between  my 
head  and  my  heart,  nothing  has  been  able  to  uproot 
filial  piety,  the  first  foundation  of  all  the  virtues. 
I  have  suffered  much.  Sufferings  have  destroyed 
my  illusions  and  dispelled  my  dreams,  but  happily 
they  have  not  weakened  the  faculties  of  the  soul, 
those  faculties  which  permit  one  to  comprehend  and 
love  all  that  is  good." 

King  Louis'  application  having  proved  fruitless, 
his  son  resolved  to  make  a  personal  appeal  to  the 
Government.  He  wrote,  December  25,  to  Comte 
Duch&tel,  Minister  of  the  Interior:  "I  come,  M. 
Minister,  to  declare  to  you  that  if  the  French  Gov- 
ernment will  permit  me  to  go  to  Florence  and  per- 
form a  sacred  duty,  I  promise,  upon  honor,  to  return 
and  become  a  prisoner  again,  whenever  the  Govern- 
ment expresses  its  desire  that  I  shall  do  so."  The 
Prince  went  further  still.  January  14,  1846,  he 
addressed  to  the  King  himself  the  following  letter: 
"Sire,  it  is  not  without  keen  emotion  that  I  come 
to  ask  Your  Majesty,  as  a  benefit,  for  permission  to 


THE  END   OF  THE  CAPTIVITY  285 

leave  France,  even  momentarily,  I  who  have,  for 
the  last  five  years,  found  an  ample  recompense  for 
the  torments  of  captivity  in  the  air  of  the  father- 
land. But  at  present  my  sick  and  infirm  father 
demands  my  care.  In  order  to  obtain  my  freedom, 
he  has  addressed  himself  to  persons  known  for  their 
devotion  to  Your  Majesty;  it  is  my  duty,  on  my 
own  part,  to  do  all  that  depends  on  me  to  reach 
him. 

"  The  Ministerial  Council,  not  thinking  it  within 
its  competence  to  grant  the  request  I  have  made  to 
go  to  Florence,  promising  to  return  and  become  once 
more  a  prisoner  when  the  Government  shall  manifest 
its  desire  for  me  to  do  so,  I  come,  Sire,  with  confi- 
dence, to  make  an  appeal  to  Your  Majesty's  humane 
sentiments,  and  renew  my  request  by  submitting  it, 
Sire,  to  your  high  and  generous  intervention. 

"Your  Majesty,  I  am  convinced,  will  appreciate 
as  it  deserves  a  step  which  pledges  my  gratitude 
in  advance,  and,  touched  by  the  isolated  position 
in  a  foreign  land  of  a  man  who  on  the  throne  merited 
the  esteem  of  Europe,  will  hear  the  prayers  of  my 
father  and  my  own. 

"  I  beg,  Sire,  Your  Majesty  to  receive  the  expres- 
sion of  my  profound  respect." 

This  letter  was  transmitted  to  the  King  by  the 
General  Prince  de  la  Moskowa,  eldest  son  of  the 
illustrious  marshal,  and  peer  of  France.  The  Coun- 
cil of  Ministers  thought  it  insufficient,  and  that  the 
clemency  of  the  King  could  not  be  exercised  unless 


286  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

the  Prince  formally  begged  pardon.  Now,  he  was 
irrevocably  determined  never  to  pronounce  the  word 
pardon.  M.  Odilon  Barrot,  who  interested  himself 
greatly  in  the  prisoner,  sent  him  the  draught  of  a 
letter  by  M.  Duch&tel,  and  strongly  urged  him  to 
sign  it. 

The  Prince  replied  to  M.  Odilon  Barrot  February 
2,  1846 :  "  I  do  not  think  I  can  put  my  name  at  the 
bottom  of  the  letter  of  which  you  have  sent  me  a 
model.  To  sign  it  would  in  reality  be  to  ask  pardon 
without  daring  to  avow  it.  I  should  be  hiding  my- 
self behind  my  father's  request  like  a  poltroon  who 
shelters  himself  behind  a  tree  to  avoid  the  bullet. 
I  find  the  situation  scarcely  worthy  of  me.  If  I 
thought  it  honorable  or  suitable  for  me  to  invoke 
purely  and  simply  the  royal  clemency,  I  would  write 
to  the  King:  'Sire,  I  beg  pardon.'  But  such  is  not 
my  intention.  I  suffer,  but  every  day  I  say  to  my- 
self :  I  am  in  France,  I  have  kept  my  honor  intact ; 
I  live  without  joys,  but  also  without  remorse,  and 
every  night  I  go  to  sleep  contented.  ...  It  is  not 
my  duty  to  subscribe  to  a  request  for  pardon  dis- 
guised as  filial  piety.  ...  I  will  not  move  a  step 
further  in  advance.  The  path  of  honor  is  narrow 
and  shifting ;  there  is  but  a  hand's  breadth  between 
firm  ground  and  the  abyss.  ...  I  await  calmly 
the  decision  of  the  King,  a  man  who,  like  me,  has 
passed  through  thirty  years  of  misfortunes.  .  .  . 
For  the  rest,  I  resign  myself  to  destiny,  and  envelop 
myself  beforehand  in  my  resignation." 


THE  END  OF  THE  CAPTIVITY  287 

Instigated  by  M.  Vieillard,  who  was  at  the  time 
deputy  from  the  department  of  the  Manche,  several 
other  deputies  displayed  an  interest  in  the  Prince. 
Some  thirty  of  them  met  in  one  of  the  offices  to  ex- 
amine his  situation  and  contrive  means  of  being 
useful  to  him.  Among  them  were  MM.  Dupont  (de 
l'Eure),  Berryer,  Garnier-PagSs,  Marie,  Odilon  and 
Ferdinand  Barrot.  They  separated  without  coming 
to  any  conclusion.  But  at  the  close  of  the  meeting, 
M.  Dupont  (de  l'Eure) said:  "Let  M.  Odilon  Barrot 
go  and  see  the  King,  not  as  leader  of  the  opposition, 
but  in  his  private  capacity,  and  plead  the  situation 
of  the  aged,  infirm,  solitary  father,  comparing  it 
with  that  of  the  King,  who  is  also  a  father,  but  sur- 
rounded by  a  numerous  family."  M.  Odilon  Barrot, 
having  consented  to  this  semi-official  measure,  went 
to  the  Tuileries  the  next  day  and  pleaded  the  pris- 
oner's cause  with  his  usual  eloquence.  According 
to  the  account  he  has  given  in  his  Memoirs,  he 
sought  to  persuade  the  King  that  it  would  be  good 
policy  to  end  a  captivity  which,  if  indefinitely  pro- 
longed, might  attract  attention  to  the  prisoner,  and 
that  it  would  be  better  to  crush  this  ambitious  youth 
once  more  under  the  weight  of  royal  generosity: 
that  the  approaching  death  of  King  Louis  afforded  a 
favorable  opportunity,  as  the  favor  would  seem  to  be 
granted  to  the  father  rather  than  to  the  son.  Louis 
Philippe  replied  that  the  Government  could  not  con- 
sider the  Prince's  engagement  to  return  to  prison  as 
a  serious  guaranty,   and  ought  not  to  set  him  at 


288  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

liberty  until  he  had  explicitly  acknowledged  that  he 
owed  his  pardon  to  the  royal  generosity.  The  sover- 
eign added  that  the  question  had  now  become  a  state 
affair  and  could  not  be  settled  without  a  deliberation 
of  the  Ministerial  Council.  As  M.  Odilon  Barrot 
exclaimed:  "Ah!  Sire,  you  send  me  back  to  the 
Ministers ;  there  is  no  longer  any  hope !  "  "  Pardon ! 
pardon!"  returned  the  King,  and  the  conversation 
terminated  courteously,  but  without  any  result. 
An  English  peer,  Lord  Londonderry,  made  equally 
unsuccessful  efforts.  It  was  in  vain  that  he  de- 
clared, on  behalf  of  Louis  Napoleon,  that  if  the 
Prince  were  released  from  the  fortress  of  Ham,  he 
would  pledge  himself  to  go  to  America  after  passing 
a  single  year  in  Italy  with  his  father. 

When  Louis  Napoleon  became  convinced  that  all 
his  efforts  would  fail,  as  he  was  firmly  resolved 
never  to  utter  the  word  pardon,  he  took  a  resolution 
which  he  has  described  as  follows  in  a  letter  ad- 
dressed to  M.  Degeorges:  "The  desire  to  see  my 
father  once  more  in  this  world  has  urged  me  to  the 
most  audacious  enterprise  I  ever  attempted;  one 
that  demanded  more  courage  and  determination  than 
Strasburg  or  Boulogne,  since  I  was  resolved  not  to 
endure  the  ridicule  attaching  to  a  man  arrested 
under  a  disguise,  and  a  failure  would  have  been 
insupportable. "  In  the  history  of  celebrated  escapes, 
none  is  more  astonishing  than  that  of  the  prisoner 
of  Ham. 

The  prisoner  confided  his  scheme  to  two  persons 


THE  END  OF  THE  CAPTIVITY  289 

only:  his  valet,  Charles  The'lin,  and  Dr.  Conneau. 
The  doctor  had  earned  his  devotion  to  such  lengths 
that  when  amnestied,  in  1844,  he  had  asked  the 
favor  of  remaining  in  prison  with  the  Prince,  and 
wrote  on  November  28:  "I  declare  that  I  have 
elected  my  domicile  in  the  prison  of  Ham  and  sub- 
mitted to  all  conditions  which  the  authorities  have 
seen  fit  to  impose  upon  me."  Charles  The'lin  was 
fully  determined  never  to  quit  his  master,  and  his 
captivity  being  entirely  voluntary,  as  he  had  never 
been  condemned,  he  was  treated  in  a  special  manner 
and  allowed  to  leave  the  fortress  at  times  and  go 
about  in  the  town.  But  for  this  permission  granted 
to  his  servant,  the  escape  of  the  Prince  would  have 
been  impossible.  It  was  The'lin,  in  fact,  who  bought 
in  Ham  the  clothes  in  which  his  master  disguised 
himself,  and  who  arranged  the  details  of  the  flight. 

As  to  General  de  Montholon,  the  prisoner  took 
good  care  not  to  tell  him.  The  general  had  disap- 
proved of  the  Boulogne  expedition,  of  which  he 
had  known  nothing  until  the  very  moment  when  the 
vessel  containing  the  conspirators  was  about  to  land 
at  Vimereux.  The  Prince  was  very  well  aware  that 
the  general  would  be  as  energetic  in  his  condemna- 
tion of  what  seemed  to  be  a  folly,  an  absurdity.  But 
the  improbable  is  occasionally  the  true.  History  has 
still  greater  surprises  than  the  novel. 

When  Louis  Napoleon  acquainted  Dr.  Conneau 
with  his  plans,  the  latter  made  every  effort  at  dis- 
suasion.    Failure  seemed  inevitable,  and  one  still 


290  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

wonders  how  a  man  could  be  rash  enough  to  attempt 
such  an  enterprise.  Any  one  who  glances  at  a  plan 
of  the  fortress  of  Ham  will  find  that  the  way  in  which 
the  prisoner  succeeded  in  getting  out  without  the 
connivance  of  a  single  jailer  or  soldier  is  a  miracle. 
Some  fortuitous  circumstances,  of  which  Louis  Napo- 
leon availed  himself  with  unheard-of  audacity  and 
coolness,  could  alone  have  rendered  this  miracle 
possible. 

The  Prince's  prison,  guarded  by  three  jailers,  two 
of  whom  were  always  on  duty,  was  on  one  side  of 
the  barracks,  near  the  dungeon,  at  the  back  of  the 
court.  To  go  out  of  the  only  door  of  the  fortress  it 
was  necessary  in  the  first  place  to  pass  in  front  of 
the  two  jailers,  cross  the  entire  length  of  the  court, 
go  under  the  windows  of  the  commandant,  who 
lodged  near  the  drawbridge,  and  through  the  wicket, 
where  there  was  an  orderly,  a  sergeant,  a  gate- 
keeper, a  sentry,  and  lastly  a  post  of  thirty  men. 
That  the  Prince  should  conceive  the  idea  of  going 
out  alone,  in  broad  daylight,  in  sight  of  everybody, 
was  a  contingency  so  strange,  so  inconceivable,  that 
not  even  the  most  suspicious  of  jailers  would  have 
admitted  its  possibility.  The  prisoner  himself 
would  never  have  thought  of  it  but  for  an  alto- 
gether peculiar  circumstance.  At  the  time  when 
he  was  arranging  his  plan,  a  sum  of  six  hundred 
francs  had  been  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  com- 
mandant of  the  fortress  for  certain  indispensable 
repairs  in  the  Prince's  apartment  and  the  stairway 


THE  END  OF  THE  CAPTIVITY  291 

leading  to  it.  There  was  a  continual  going  and 
coming  of  workmen  in  the  court.  Louis  Napoleon 
remarked  that  they  were  carefully  searched  when 
they  entered,  but  much  less  so  on  going  out.  This 
was  an  illumination  for  him.  He  took  the  strange 
determination  to  disguise  himself  as  a  workman  and 
leave  the  fortress  in  open  daylight. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

THE  ESCAPE 

T  OUIS  NAPOLEON  had  settled  on  the  25th  of 
-^  May  for  his  escape.  On  the  26th  the  work- 
men would  have  completed  their  task.  But  on  the 
25th  they  were  all  to  be  there,  and  the  commandant 
of  the  fortress,  who  had  been  unwell  for  some  time, 
was  expected  to  rise  somewhat  later  than  usual. 
Here  were  two  circumstances  which  must  be  availed 
of  without  delay.  On  the  24th,  in  bidding  General 
de  Montholon  and  his  wife  good  night,  the  Prince 
embraced  them  with  an  emotion  that  came  very  near 
betraying  him.  But  neither  of  them  suspected  what 
was  going  on. 

On  the  25th,  the  Abbe*  Tirmache,  curd  of  Ham 
(who  under  the  Second  Empire  was  a  bishop  and 
almoner  of  the  Tuileries),  was  to  say  Mass  at  the 
fortress  in  the  chapel  on  the  ground  floor.  Very 
early  in  the  morning,  the  Prince  wrote  and  sent  this 
letter  to  him:  "M.  Dean,  I  should  be  glad  to  have 
you  put  off  until  to-morrow  or  the  next  day  the  Mass 
you  were  to  celebrate  to-day  at  the  chateau,  for,  as  I 
suffered  great  pains  on  rising,  I  am  obliged  to  take 
a  bath  to  alleviate  them." 

292 


THE  ESCAPE  293 


It  is  half-past  six  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The 
workmen  are  already  at  work  repairing  the  paint  on 
the  staircase.  At  the  same  time  the  Prince  finishes 
disguising  himself.  Among  the  papers  found  at  the 
Tuileries  after  the  revolution  of  September  4,  was 
the  bill  for  the  articles  used  in  this  disguise.  It 
amounted  to  twenty-five  francs.  The  dress  was  a 
complete  workman's  costume.  The  Prince  puts  on 
a  blue  blouse,  soiled  with  plaster,  over  his  frock 
coat;  on  his  head  he  wears  a  black  wig  with  long 
hair,  and  a  peaked  cap  worn  threadbare  with  pumice 
stone;  he  is  shod  with  sabots,  which  make  him  look 
taller;  he  has  darkened  his  complexion,  and,  to  make 
himself  totally  unrecognizable,  has  shaved  off  his 
moustache.  The  future  Emperor  looks  like  a  real 
mason. 

"I  myself,"  said  Dr.  Conneau  afterwards,  "would 
have  met  and  not  recognized  the  Prince  in  a  work- 
man thus  accoutred."  Under  his  apparel  the  pris- 
oner conceals  a  portfolio  containing  two  letters,  one 
from  the  Emperor  his  uncle,  and  the  other  from 
his  grandmother,  the  Empress  Josephine,  which  he 
never  lays  aside,  because  he  regards  them  as  talis- 
mans. This  is  a  grave  imprudence,  for  if  the  fugi- 
tive is  arrested  on  his  way,  these  letters  would  be 
sufficient  to  identify  him.  But  what  of  that? 
Superstitious  and  a  fatalist,  the  captive  abandons 
himself  to  his  destiny. 

His  disguise  accomplished,  Louis  Napoleon  puts 
a  pipe  between  his  teeth,  and  a  long  deal  plank  over 


294  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

his  shoulder.  This  plank  is  one  of  his  library 
shelves,  and  the  letter  N  is  inscribed  upon  it.  It 
is  the  initial  of  Napoleon's  name;  the  Prince  fan- 
cies it  will  bring  him  good  luck.  As  he  will 
say  afterwards,  that  plank  is  to  be  his  plank  of 
salvation. 

The  time  to  start  has  come.  But  the  workmen 
are  still  on  the  staircase,  where  they  are  at  work, 
and  if  the  Prince  passes  in  front  of  them  they  will 
wonder  at  this  comrade  whom  they  do  not  recognize. 
How  to  get  them  out  of  the  way?  Charles  Thelin 
asks  them  to  take  a  drink.  They  accept,  and  going 
into  a  room  on  the  ground  floor,  they  empty  several 
bottles.  Quitting  them  for  an  instant,  Thelin 
hastily  runs  up  to  his  master's  room  and  tells  him 
it  is  time  to  depart.  But  the  two  wardens,  Dupin 
and  Issali,  are  on  duty  at  the  door,  and  how  is  their 
vigilance  to  be  eluded  ?  Thelin,  who  has  gone  down 
again  and  is  chatting  with  them,  remarks  that  the 
Prince  was  seriously  ill  during  the  night. 

Just  then  Louis  Napoleon  leaves  his  room.  On 
the  stairs  he  meets  a  workman  and  recoils  for  a 
moment.  Dr.  Conneau  gives  him  a  push,  saying  in 
an  undertone:  "Go  on."  The  Prince  is  at  the  foot 
of  the  stairs,  face  to  face  with  one  of  the  wardens. 
He  puts  the  plank  before  his  face  and  passes. 
Romantic  and  eager  for  emotions  in  spite  of  his 
phlegmatic  appearance,  he  experiences  a  violent 
satisfaction  in  braving  fortune  and  in  saying  to 
himself:  If  the  escape  is  a  failure,  I  will  not  sur- 


THE  ESCAPE  295 


vive  the  ridicule ;  but  if  it  succeeds,  I  shall  become 
the  master  of  France. 

Now  he  is  in  the  court,  the  whole  length  of  which 
he  is  obliged  to  traverse.  He  keeps  the  plank  con- 
stantly between  himself  and  the  sentries  and  other 
persons  whom  he  meets.  When  passing  in  front  of 
the  first  sentry  he  lets  his  pipe  fall,  stops  for  a  mo- 
ment to  pick  up  the  pieces,  and  then  walks  on  again. 
Next  he  meets  the  officer  of  the  guard,  but  the  latter 
is  reading  a  letter  and  does  not  notice  him.  The 
Prince  passes  under  the  commandant's  windows, 
beside  the  only  door  of  the  fortress.  Until  now  he 
has  not  been  recognized.  But  will  it  be  so  at  the 
wicket?  The  soldiers  at  the  guard  house  seem  sur- 
prised at  the  dress  of  the  pretended  mason.  The 
drum  rolls  several  times.  However,  the  orderlies 
open  the  door,  and  the  fugitive  is  outside  of  the 
fortress.  But  hardly  has  he  left  it  when  he  meets 
two  workmen,  who  look  at  him  attentively.  He 
shifts  his  plank  to  the  shoulder  next  them,  but  fears 
he  cannot  escape,  when  he  hears  them  say :  "  It  is 
Bertrand !  "     He  is  safe. 

Charles  Thelin  goes  out  soon  after  his  master, 
taking  care  to  say  that  he  will  not  come  in  until 
very  late,  so  that  his  prolonged  absence  may  not 
arouse  suspicion.  He  runs  to  Ham  for  the  cab  he 
had  hired  the  day  before  from  one  Fontaine,  and 
drives  along  the  Saint-Quentin  road  to  meet  the 
Prince,  who  meantime  has  been  walking. 

On  leaving  the  fortress,  Louis  Napoleon  follows 


296  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

the  rampart  as  far  as  the  Saint-Quentin  gate,  then 
takes  the  faubourg  of  Saint-Sulpice,  and  afterwards 
the  high  road.  He  passes  the  cemetery  of  Ham,  and 
returns  thanks  to  Heaven.  The  6th  of  the  next 
June  he  will  write  to  M.  Vieillard :  "  When  about 
half  a  league  from  Ham,  while  awaiting  Charles,  I 
found  myself  opposite  the  cemetery  cross  and  fell  on 
my  knees  before  it  and  thanked  God.  .  .  .  Ah !  do 
not  laugh  at  it!  There  are  instincts  which  are 
stronger  than  all  philosophic  arguments."  The 
Prince  abandons  the  plank  that  has  done  him  such 
good  service.  He  throws  it  on  the  road  in  front  of 
the  cemetery  of  Ham,  and  then,  sitting  down  on  the 
side  of  a  ditch,  he  counts  the  minutes  and  wonders 
when  Thelin  will  arrive.  At  last  he  sees  a  carriage 
coming.  It  is  the  cabriolet,  into  which  he  hastily 
enters  with  his  faithful  servant.  In  less  than  an 
hour  they  reach  Saint-Quentin. 

At  the  entrance  of  the  city  the  Prince  alights  from 
the  carriage,  hides  his  workman's  dress  in  a  ditch  on 
the  right-hand  side  of  the  road,  and  makes  the  tour 
of  the  city  extra  muros,  while  Thelin  goes  to  find 
another  carriage.  The  master  and  servant  agree  to 
meet  on  the  Valenciennes  road,  and  do  so.  Both 
get  into  the  carriage  taken  at  Saint-Quentin. 
Towards  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  they  arrive 
at  Valenciennes,  and  they  alight  at  the  railway 
station,  where,  for  two  hours  that  seem  very  long, 
they  await  the  train  for  Brussels.  For  one  instant 
the  Prince  believes  that  he  is  discovered,  that  he  is 


THE  ESCAPE  297 


going  to  be  wrecked  in  port.  Thdlin  hears  a  loud 
voice  calling  him  by  name.  Who  is  it  that  speaks  ? 
A  former  gendarme  of  Ham,  who  is  now  employed 
on  the  railway.  This  individual  asks  for  news  of 
the  Prince  and  begins  a  long  conversation.  But 
the  alarms  are  dispelled.  Louis  Napoleon  is  not 
recognized.  He  gets  into  a  railway  car  with  Thelin 
and  crosses  the  frontier  unmolested.  King  Louis 
Philippe's  Government  has  no  further  hold  upon  him. 

A  few  days  later  the  escaped  captive  wrote  to  a 
republican,  the  editor-in-chief  of  the  Progres  du 
Pas-de- Calais :  "My  dear  Degeorges,  if  I  experi- 
enced a  lively  sentiment  of  joy  when  I  felt  myself 
outside  the  fortress,  I  experienced  a  very  painful 
impression  in  crossing  the  frontier;  to  determine 
me  to  leave  Frauce  I  needed  the  certainty  that  the 
Government  would  never  set  me  at  liberty  unless  I 
consented  to  dishonor  myself;  I  needed,  lastly,  to 
be  urged  by  the  desire  of  trying  every  means  in 
order  to  console  my  father  in  his  old  age.  .  .  . 
Although  free,  I  feel  very  unhappy.  ...  If  you 
can,  try  to  be  useful  to  my  good  Conneau." 

Now  let  us  see  what  went  on  at  the  fortress  of 
Ham  during  the  evening  of  May  25.  All  day  long, 
Dr.  Conneau  had  experienced  almost  as  many  emo- 
tions as  the  fugitive  himself.  It  was  essential  that 
several  hours  should  elapse  before  his  departure  was 
suspected.  For  if  any  inkling  of  it  should  be 
gained,  orders  for  his  arrest  would  be  telegraphed 
to    the    authorities    of    Saint-Quentin   and   Valen- 


298  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

ciennes.  It  was  necessary  first  of  all  to  gain  time 
and  prevent  any  one  from  entering  the  empty 
chamber.  The  doctor  put  a  sort  of  manikin  into 
the  bed,  made  out  of  a  cloak  and  a  silk  handker- 
chief. He  said  that  the  Prince,  who  was  suffering 
greatly  in  the  morning,  had  gone  to  bed  again  after 
taking  a  purgative,  and  was  sleeping  after  a  night 
of  insomnia,  and  that  his  slumber  ought  to  be 
respected.  It  was  not  until  evening  that  Comman- 
dant Demarle  began  to  have  vague  suspicions.  At 
seven  o'clock  he  said  to  Dr.  Conneau:  "If  the 
Prince  is  suffering,  make  your  report.  He  has  not 
been  seen  all  day.  This  is  the  third  time  I  have 
come  here.  I  wish  to  see  him."  And  he  went  to 
the  door  leading  into  the  bedroom.  The  drums 
began  to  roll  as  he  opened  it,  and  he  exclaimed: 
"  That  is  going  to  awaken  the  Prince.  I  think  he 
turned  round  in  his  bed."  M.  Demarle  entered  the 
chamber,  approached  the  manikin,  which  he  mistook 
for  Louis  Napoleon,  and  said :  "  It  seems  to  me  I  do 
not  hear  him  breathe."  Then  in  a  moment,  perceiv- 
ing that  there  was  nothing  but  a  manikin  in  the 
bed,  "What  does  this  mean?"  he  exclaimed;  "are 
you  playing  a  trick  on  me  ?     Where  is  the  Prince  ?  " 

"Mon  Dleu,"  replied  the  doctor,  "it  is  useless  to 
conceal  it  from  you  any  longer;  the  Prince  is  gone." 

"Gone!     How?    Where?" 

"Excuse  me,  but  that  is  my  secret;  I  have  done 
my  duty;  do  yours  and  search." 

"But,  at  least,  tell  me  at  what  hour?" 


THE  ESCAPE  299 


"At  seven  o'clock  this  morning." 
"  Very  well,  sir;  re-enter  your  prison." 
On  learning,  as  he  did  at  this  time,  that  Louis 
Napoleon  had  left  the  fortress  without  bidding  him 
adieu,  General  de  Montholon,  who  had  been  his 
companion  in  captivity  for  six  years,  was  not  merely 
surprised,  but  very  much  offended.  This  consolatory 
letter  had  been  left  for  him  by  the  Prince:  "My 
dear  General,  you  will  be  much  astonished  by  the 
decision  I  have  taken,  and  still  more  so  that,  having 
taken  it,  I  did  not  inform  you  of  it  sooner.  But  I 
thought  it  was  better  to  leave  you  in  ignorance  of 
my  plans,  which  date  only  a  few  days  back;  and 
besides,  I  was  convinced  that  my  escape  could  not 
be  otherwise  than  advantageous  to  you  and  to  other 
friends  whom  I  leave  in  prison.  The  Government 
only  detains  you  on  my  account,  and  when  it  sees 
that  I  have  no  intention  of  using  my  liberty  against 
it,  it  will,  I  hope,  open  the  doors  of  all  the  prisons. 
.  .  .  Believe,  General,  that  I  greatly  regret  having 
been  unable  to  see  you  and  press  your  hand  before 
departing ;  but  that  would  have  been  impossible ;  my 
emotion  would  have  betrayed  the  secret  I  wished  to 
keep.  ...  I  will  write  you  as  soon  as  I  have 
reached  a  place  of  safety.  Adieu,  my  dear  General ; 
receive  the  assurance  of  my  friendship."  A  few 
weeks  later,  General  de  Montholon  was  pardoned  by 
King  Louis  Philippe  and  set  at  liberty. 

On  July  9,  Commandant  Demarle,  Dr.  Conneau, 
and  the   two   jailers,    Dupin   and   Issali,   appeared 


300  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

before  the  correctional  tribunal  of  Pe"ronne,  charged 
with  complicity  in  the  Prince's  escape.  Judgment 
was  rendered  the  next  day,  and  the  commandant  and 
the  two  jailers  were  acquitted.  Charles  Thelin  was 
condemned  in  default  to  six  months'  imprisonment, 
and  Dr.  Conneau  to  three  months'.  As  M.  Fernand 
Girandeau  has  said,  the  doctor  would  willingly  have 
endured  ten  times  as  much  in  order  to  save  his 
Prince,  and  no  one  has  ever  seen  a  condemned  man 
in  better  spirits. 

In  France  people  like  audacity,  and  political  pris- 
oners who  make  good  their  escape  always  interest 
the  public.  The  same  persons  who  had  ridiculed 
the  unsuccessful  attempt  of  Boulogne  applauded  an 
escape  made  improbable  by  its  very  boldness.  Op- 
ponents in  all  parties  were  amused  by  the  trick  just 
played  by  a  prince  disguised  as  a  mason.  It  was 
like  a  novel  which  had  excited  general  attention,  but 
whose  succeeding  chapters  no  one  could  yet  guess  at. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

THE  DEATH  OF  KING  LOUIS 

T  OUIS  NAPOLEON  had  escaped  from  the  for- 
-^  tress  of  Ham  on  Monday  morning,  May  25, 
1846.  He  was  in  Belgium  eight  hours  later,  and 
twelve  hours  after  that  in  England.  Just  as  he  ar- 
rived in  London  he  passed  Lord  Malmesbury  in  the 
street,  who  was  on  horseback.  Lord  Malmesbury 
met  one  of  the  attache's  of  the  French  Embassy  at 
dinner  that  evening.  "  Have  you  seen  him  ?  "  said 
he.  "Seen  whom?"  —  "Louis  Napoleon;  he  has 
just  arrived  in  London."  The  young  diplomat  left 
the  table  at  once  and  went  with  all  haste  to  commu- 
nicate the  news  to  his  chief,  Comte  de  Sainte-Aulaire. 
The  first  thought  of  the  escaped  prisoner  was  for 
his  father.  He  wrote  him  from  London,  May  27: 
"  My  dear  Father :  The  desire  to  see  you  again  made 
me  attempt  what  otherwise  I  never  should  have  done. 
I  have  eluded  the  vigilance  of  four  hundred  men  and 
arrived  in  London  safe  and  sound.  I  have  powerful 
friends  there.  I  am  going  to  put  them  to  use  in 
trying  to  reach  you.  I  entreat  you,  my  dear  Father, 
to  do  all  in  your  power  in  order  that  I  may  speedily 
rejoin  you.  My  address  is:  Comte  d'Arenenberg, 
Brunswick  Hotel,  Jermyn  street,  London." 

301 


302  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

At  the  same  time,  the  Prince  addressed  the  fol- 
lowing letter  to  the  ambassador  of  King  Louis 
Philippe:  "Sir,  I  consider  it  my  duty  to  inform 
you  of  my  escape  from  the  fortress  of  Ham  and  of 
my  arrival  on  the  hospitable  soil  of  England.  I 
have  endured  six  years  of  captivity  without  com- 
plaining, because  I  wished  to  prove,  by  my  resigna- 
tion, that  I  was  worthy  of  a  better  fate.  But  my 
aged  and  infirm  father  having  desired  to  see  me  once 
more  in  this  world,  I  asked  permission  to  go  to 
Florence  from  the  French  Government,  assuring  it 
of  my  pacific  intentions  and  offering  it  every  guar- 
anty consistent  with  my  honor.  The  Government 
was  inexorable.  I  took  my  departure.  Now  that  I 
am  free,  I  come,  sir,  to  give  you  the  formal  assur- 
ance that  if  I  have  quitted  my  prison,  it  was  neither 
to  concern  myself  with  politics  nor  to  seek  to  disturb 
the  repose  enjoyed  by  Europe,  but  simply  to  fulfil  a 
sacred  duty." 

The  filial  piety  of  the  Prince  had  caused  him  to 
accomplish  a  thing  that  bordered  on  the  miraculous. 
He  was  amazed  himself  at  the  success  of  his  escape, 
and  returned  thanks  to  Providence.  He  wrote  to 
M.  Vieillard,  June  1,  1846 :  "  I  have  been  very  well 
received  here.  Really  one  must  do  the  English  jus- 
tice ;  they  have  a  great  deal  of  independence  in  their 
character.  Yesterday  I  dined  at  a  most  delightful 
villa  on  the  bank  of  the  Thames,  and  when  I  remem- 
bered that  just  eight  days  ago  I  was  meditating  with 
Conneau,  on  the  top  of  the  ramparts,  concerning  my 


THE  DEATH  OF  KING  LOUIS  803 

escape,  I  thoaght  I  must  be  dreaming."  And  on 
June  6:  "The  agitation  has  done  me  good.  But  I 
have  not  yet  recovered  from  the  fear  I  had  of  not 
succeeding.  When  I  remember  that  I  was  scruti- 
nized from  head  to  foot  by  the  warden,  the  soldiers, 
and  the  workmen,  I  tremble  at  the  thought  of  a  third 
failure." 

While  the  Prince  was  making  repeated  efforts  to 
obtain  a  passport  which  would  enable  him  to  rejoin 
his  father  in  Tuscany,  the  unfortunate  old  man,  who 
had  but  a  few  days  more  to  live,  was  awaiting  with 
agonizing  impatience  the  only  child  whom  God  had 
left  him.  The  sole  desire  of  the  dying  man  was  to 
see  this  son  upon  whom  all  his  affection  was  concen- 
trated, but  it  was  a  wish  which  met  with  insur- 
mountable obstacles.  Concerning  this  M.  Fernand 
Girandeau  has  justly  remarked:  "The  right  to  go 
wherever  we  please,  to  which  we  are  now  accustomed, 
was  not  then  accorded  to  all;  and  those  who  set  out 
on  a  journey  without  the  required  papers  could  not 
go  far.  If  we  now  go  everywhere,  or  almost  every- 
where, without  passports  in  our  pockets,  it  is  because 
at  this  epoch,  having  suffered  cruelly  from  such  an 
impediment,  Louis  Napoleon  resolved  to  suppress  it 
as  soon  as  he  should  come  to  power,  and  kept  his 
resolution,  and  because  most  of  the  other  govern- 
ments were  brought  to  act  like  his." 

All  the  Prince's  attempts  to  obtain  his  passport 
were  in  vain.  The  Embassy  of  France  at  London 
met  him  with  an  absolute  refusal.     The  Austrian 


304  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

ambassador,  who  was  also  chargS  d'affaires  for  Tus- 
cany, answered  him  by  saying :  "  You  are  neither  an 
Austrian  nor  a  Tuscan  subject ;  to  us  you  are  a  for- 
eigner, or,  rather,  under  suspicion  as  a  former  car- 
bonaro;  your  request  should  not  be  addressed  to  us." 
The  Grand-duke  of  Tuscany  caused  him  to  be  notified 
that  he  would  not  tolerate  his  presence  for  twenty- 
four  hours  in  his  dominions. 

Meanwhile  the  unfortunate  King  Louis  was  wait- 
ing for  his  son  with  feverish  impatience,  counting 
the  days  and  hours,  and  alas !  in  vain.  FeAV  destinies 
have  been  so  sad  as  that  of  the  former  King  of  Hol- 
land. Born  at  Ajaccio,  September  2,  1778,  he  was 
but  thirty-one  years  of  age  when  he  was  dispossessed 
of  his  throne.  From  that  time  he  had  lived  in  re- 
tirement and  in  an  exile  interrupted  for  a  few  weeks 
only  in  1814,  at  the  time  of  the  invasion.  As  deeply 
afflicted  by  the  sufferings  of  his  country  as  by  those 
that  were  personal  to  himself,  he  dragged  out  a  dis- 
mal existence  in  a  foreign  land.  A  dethroned  king, 
an  unhappy  husband,  a  father  whom  death  had  de- 
prived of  two  of  his  three  children,  and  life  forced 
apart  from  the  only  one  that  remained,  he  saw  all 
things  human  under  the  most  gloomy  aspect.  Of 
all  his  ephemeral  grandeurs  he  had  retained  noth- 
ing but  a  memory  replete  with  bitterness.  The  de- 
testable state  of  his  health  had  induced  a  moroseness 
of  disposition  which  annoying  trifles  affected  more 
than  great  calamities.  A  retired  old  pilot,  he  was 
still  more  surprised  than  chagrined  by  seeing  his 


THE  DEATH  OF  KINO  LOUIS  305 

audacious  son  affronting  tempests  through  mere 
wantonness.  Such  adventures  as  those  of  Strasburg 
and  Boulogne  seemed  to  him  culpable  absurdities, 
inexcusable  follies.  And  yet  his  foolhardy  son 
moved  him  rather  to  compassion  than  to  anger.  His 
severity  had  lessened,  and  the  motive  which  had 
inspired  the  escape  from  Ham  touched  his  paternal 
heart  profoundly.  Providence  refused  him  the  reali- 
zation of  his  latest  hope.  He  died,  alone  and  sad,  at 
Leghorn,  July  25,  1846,  without  having  been  able 
to  see  and  bless  his  son. 

King  Louis  bequeathed  to  Amsterdam  all  the 
property  he  possessed  in  that  city,  expressing  a 
desire  that  the  income  arising  therefrom  should  be 
devoted  to  the  relief  of  the  victims  of  the  yearly 
inundations.  He  made  rather  important  bequests  to 
his  brother,  King  Je*i(5ine,  and  his  three  children,  and 
to  the  son  of  Lucien  Bonaparte,  Prince  of  Canino. 
His  will  terminated  thus :  "  I  leave  all  the  rest  of  my 
property,  my  palace  in  Florence,  my  large  estate  of 
Civita  Nuova,  etc.,  all  ray  real  estate  and  personal 
property,  shares,  claims,  —  everything  in  fact  which 
at  the  time  of  my  death  shall  constitute  my  heritage, 
—  to  my  universal  heir,  Louis  Napoleon,  my  only 
remaining  son,  to  which  son  and  heir  I  leave,  as  a 
testimony  of  my  tenderness,  my  Dunkerque,  placed  in 
my  library,  with  all  the  decorations  of  foreign  orders 
and  all  the  souvenirs  it  contains,  and  in  testimony 
of  a  yet  more  particular  affection,  I  leave  him  all  the 
objects  which  belonged  to  my  brother  the  Emperor 


306  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Napoleon,  which  are  enclosed  in  the  small  receptacle 
intended  for  that  purpose." 

Louis  Napoleon  Avas  deeply  afflicted  by  his  ina- 
bility to  close  the  eyes  of  a  father  whom  he  venerated, 
and  to  whom  he  bore  more  than  one  resemblance, 
both  physical  and  moral.  The  countenance  of  King 
Louis  bore  no  likeness  whatever  to  that  of  the  Em- 
peror his  brother.  His  eyes  were  full  of  gentleness. 
His  expression  was  kindly.  Those  portraits  of  him 
which  were  painted  under  the  First  Empire,  some  of 
which  are  to  be  found  in  the  museums  of  Holland, 
and  others  in  the  attics  of  the  chateau  of  Versailles, 
prove  the  resemblance  which  existed  between  his 
features  and  those  of  Louis  Napoleon.  Their  char- 
acters presented  similar  analogies.  In  the  son  as  in 
the  father  there  was  a  noticeable  propensity  to  melan- 
choly, a  blending  of  coldness  and  affability,  and  a 
pronounced  taste  for  literature,  humanitarian  dreams, 
and  generous  Utopias. 

The  dethroned  King  wished  to  be  a  man  of  letters, 
a  prose  writer,  and  a  poet.  He  wrote  a  great  deal. 
As  early  as  1800  he  published  a  novel  in  three  vol- 
umes entitled:  Marie  ou  les  Peines  de  V amour.  He 
brought  out  a  second  edition  of  it  in  1814,  under  the 
title  of  Marie  ou  les  Hollandaises.  In  1819  he  pub- 
lished Documents  historiques  sur  le  Gfouvernement  de  la 
Hollande,  which  have  a  real  value ;  in  1820*  an  His- 
toire  du  Parlement  Anglais ;  in  1825,  an  JEssai  sur  la 
Versification,  in  which  he  proposed  to  render  the 
French  language  prosodical,  like  Latin,  which  would 


THE  DEATH  OF  KINO  LOUIS  807 

permit  the  suppression  of  rhyme ;  in  1828,  a  collec- 
tion of  poems  and  a  response  to  Walter  Scott's  life 
of  Napoleon.  Certain  works  of  his  contain  Utopian 
schemes  like  those  broached  by  his  son  in  his  book 
on  the  Extinction  of  Pauperism.  We  instance  that 
passage  in  Marie  ou  les  Rollandaises,  in  which  the 
quondam  sovereign  describes,  under  the  veil  of  fic- 
tion, a  countr}r  after  his  own  heart,  governed 
paternally  but  despotically,  in  which  marriages 
are  regulated  by  the  supreme  authority,  and  large 
sodalities  of  nurses  who  have  gained  the  prize  for 
virtue  (rosiires  gardes-malades)  sing  together  on 
church  festivals. 

If  certain  analogies  between  the  characters  of  King 
Louis  and  Napoleon  III.  can  be  affirmed,  one  must, 
on  the  other  hand,  acknowledge  great  differences. 
The  second  Emperor  was  far  more  ardent,  more  am- 
bitious, more  daring,  than  the  former  King  of  Hol- 
land. His  personal  charm  and  attractiveness  were 
greater.  He  knew  better  how  to  win  attachment, 
and  had  a  confidence  in  his  star  which  was  entirely 
wanting  to  his  father.  Morose,  ill,  disenchanted, 
King  Louis  endured  life  as  a  burden,  and  longed  for 
nothing  but  moral  and  material  repose.  His  son,  a 
man  of  action,  avid  of  adventures,  vehemently  desir- 
ous of  power,  an  indefatigable  political  gamester, 
was  not  discouraged  by  Strasburg  or  Boulogne,  nor 
even  by  Sedan.  After  having  lost  a  formidable 
game,  he  still  dreamed  of  taking  his  revenge.  As- 
suredly it  was  not  the   example  of   that  resigned 


308  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

philosopher  his  father  which  had  inspired  him  with 
such  tenacity  in  his  projects,  such  inveteracy  in 
tempting  fortune. 

No  historian,  it  seems  to  us,  has  better  summed 
up  the  career  and  character  of  the  Emperor  Napo- 
leon's brother  than  M.  Albert  ReVille.  The  studies 
published  by  him  in  1870,  in  the  Revue  des  Deux 
Mondes,  under  the  title :  La  Hollande  et  le  roi  Louis, 
are  truly  remarkable.  He  relates  that  Hollanders  of 
distinction  journeying  to  Italy  never  passed  through 
Florence  without  going  to  pay  their  respects  to  their 
former  King,  who  received  them  with  affability, 
willingly  conversed  with  them  about  Holland,  and 
showed  his  interest  in  all  that  went  on  there.  M. 
Albert  ReVille  finds,  on  the  whole,  that  the  history 
of  Louis  Bonaparte  leaves  a  very  melancholy  impres- 
sion on  the  minds  of  those  who  study  it,  and  that 
the  faults  he  may  have  committed  were  out  of  all 
proportion  with  his  misfortunes.  "The  country 
over  which  he  reigned,  and  which  did  not  desire 
him,  which  scarcely  thought  of  recalling  him  when 
it  might  have  done  so,  this  country  is  the  best  judge 
of  his  conduct  as  a  king.  Well,  it  is  impossible  to 
deny  that  Holland,  without  distinction  of  parties 
and  opinions,  has  retained  an  affectionate  memory 
of  Louis  Bonaparte.  Nothing  in  this  sentiment  of 
the  Dutch  people  bears  even  a  remote  resemblance 
to  a  dynastic  attachment,  but  for  all  that,  when  one 
is  speaking  in  Holland  of  the  prince  who  directed 
the  destiny  of  the  country  from  1806  to  1810,  he 


THE  DEATH  OF  KINO  LOUIS  309 

usually  hears  him  styled  the  good  King  Louis."  M. 
Albert  ReVille  has  reason  to  add  that  this  title  is 
worth  more  than  many  pompous  epithets  invented 
by  flattery. 

Louis  Napoleon  having  been  unable  to  be  present 
during  his  father's  last  moments,  and  not  being 
authorized  to  repair  either  to  Italy  or  Switzerland, 
remained  in  England  until  the  revolution  of  Febru- 
ary 24.  At  the  beginning  of  1847,  he  was  living  in 
London  in  one  of  the  new  houses  in  King  street, 
Saint  James.  February  15,  he  wrote  to  M.  Vieil- 
lard :  "  For  the  last  fortnight  I  have  been  installed 
in  a  new  house,  and  for  the  first  time  in  seven  years 
I  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  being  at  home.  I  have  as- 
sembled here  all  my  books,  all  nvy  albums  and  family 
portraits,  in  a  word,  all  the  precious  objects  which 
have  escaped  shipwreck.  The  portrait  of  the  Em- 
peror by  Paul  Delaroche  is  very  fine.  This  generous 
present  has  given  me  great  pleasure  and  forms  the 
most  beautiful  ornament  of  my  salon." 

The  Prince  combined  the  life  of  a  student  with 
that  of  a  man  of  the  world.  He  frequented  both 
drawing-rooms  and  libraries.  He  occupied  himself 
with  a  scheme  for  a  Nicaragua  canal  between  the 
Atlantic  and  the  Pacific.  He  prepared  a  new  edition 
of  his  Manual  of  Artillery.  It  was  said  that,  loyal 
to  the  promise  he  had  made  to  the  ambassador  of 
France,  he  had  become  indifferent  to  political  mat- 
ters. The  sign  of  a  pretender  was  visible  in  nothing 
but  his  liberality  toward  those  of  his  partisans  who 


310  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

lacked  resources.  Moreover,  the  Bonapartist  cause 
seemed  absolutely  lost.  In  spite  of  the  parlia- 
mentary disturbance,  the  dynasty  of  Louis  Philippe 
was  believed  to  rest  upon  a  secure  foundation.  A 
throne  upheld  by  young,  brave,  and  popular  princes 
seemed  impregnable  to  every  danger.  There  was  no 
Bonapartist  party  either  in  the  Chambers  or  the 
press,  the  army  or  the  navy,  the  country  as  consti- 
tuted by  law,  or  in  the  masses.  The  Emperor  who 
died  at  Saint  Helena  was  worshipped,  but  nobody 
believed  in  a  resurrection  of  the  Empire.  The 
Bonapartes  themselves  seemed  to  have  renounced 
every  lurking  idea  of  ambition.  King  Joseph  had 
died  leaving  no  male  descendants.  The  children  of 
Lucien,  who  was  also  dead,  were  all  of  them  papal 
subjects  and  Roman  princes.  King  J^r6me,  in  Sep- 
tember, 1847,  had  been  authorized  to  sojourn  in 
France  during  three  months  with  his  family.  This 
sojourn  seemed  to  have  become  definitive.  The 
former  King  of  Westphalia  had  been  promised  a 
yearly  pension  of  one  hundred  thousand  francs,  and 
it  was  even  said  that  Louis  Philippe  intended  to 
give  him  a  seat  in  the  Chamber  of  Peers.  His  son, 
Prince  Napoleon,  had  been  kindly  received  by  the 
King,  who  had  noticed  the  learning  and  intelligence 
of  this  young  man,  whose  sister,  the  beautiful  and 
witty  Princesse  Mathilde,  married  since  1840  to  a 
great  Russian  nobleman,  Prince  Demidoff  of  San 
Donato,  frequented  the  salon  of  Queen  Marie- Ame'lie. 
Whoever  should  have  predicted,  at  the  close  of  1847, 


THE  DEATH  OF  KING  LOUIS  311 

that  one  year  later  Prince  Louis  Napoleon  would  be, 
by  legal  means,  the  head  of  the  French  Government, 
would  have  been  thought  a  fool.  The  pretender  was 
the  only  person  who  believed  in  his  star;  and  in  his 
London  retreat,  apparently  so  calm,  he  was  waiting 
patiently  for  the  moment  when  it  should  rise  above 
a  horizon  as  yet  absolutely  hazy.  They  say  that  his 
cousin,  Lady  Douglas,  daughter  of  the  Grand-duchess 
Stephanie  of  Baden,  being  in  London  one  evening, 
said  to  him :  "  Now  that  you  are  at  liberty,  will  you 
resign  yourself  to  repose  ?  Will  you  give  up  these 
illusions  which  have  cost  you  so  dear,  and  whose 
cruel  deceptions  have  been  felt  so  keenly  b}r  all  who 
love  you?"  "My  cousin,"  returned  the  Prince,  "I 
do  not  belong  to  myself,  but  to  my  name  and  my 
country.  Although  fortune  has  twice  betrayed 
me,  my  destiny  will  be  accomplished  all  the  more 
speedily."  The  hour  expected  by  the  untiring  con- 
spirator was  about  to  strike. 


CHAPTER  XXX 

LOUIS   NAPOLEON   DEPUTY 

TpEBRUARY  25,  1848,  Louis  Napoleon  arrived 
in  Paris.  He  stayed  at  the  house  of  his  friend, 
M.  Vieillard,  rue  du  Sentier,  and  on  the  28th  he 
wrote  this  letter  to  the  members  of  the  Provisional 
Government:  "Gentlemen,  the  people  of  Paris  hav- 
ing destroyed  by  their  heroism  the  last  vestiges  of 
the  foreign  invasion,  I  hasten  from  exile  to  range 
myself  under  the  flag  of  the  Republic  which  has  just 
been  proclaimed.  With  no  other  ambition  than  that 
of  serving  my  country,  I  come  to  announce  my  arri- 
val to  the  members  of  the  Provisional  Government 
and  to  assure  them  of  my  devotion  to  the  cause  they 
represent,  and  of  my  personal  sympathy.  Accept, 
gentlemen,  the  assurance  of  my  sentiments."  The 
Prince  was  answered  by  an  order  to  recross  the  fron- 
tier without  delay.  Far  from  being  irritated  by  this 
injunction,  he  submitted  to  it  without  a  murmur 
and  set  off  at  once  for  London;  after  addressing  this 
second  letter,  dated  February  29,  to  the  Government: 
"Gentlemen,  after  thirty-three  years  of  exile  and 
persecution,  I  believed  I  had  acquired  a  right  to  a 
home  in  my  fatherland.     You  think  that  my  presence 


LOUIS  NAPOLEON  DEPUTY  313 

in  Paris  will  cause  embarrassment  just  now,  and 
therefore  I  go  away  for  a  while.  This  sacrifice  will 
make  evident  to  you  the  purity  of  my  intentions  and 
my  patriotism.  Receive,  gentlemen,  the  assurance 
of  my  high  esteem  and  sympathy." 

The  Prince  is  once  more  in  London,  where  he 
seems  to  take  no  interest  in  French  politics,  and 
where  he  has  his  name  inscribed  beside  those  of  the 
most  honorable  men  in  the  city,  in  the  list  of  special 
constables  stationed  in  Trafalgar  square  to  restrain 
the  Chartist  agitation.  He  comprehends  very  clearty 
that  on  the  morrow  of  February  24,  Lamartine's 
popularity  would  outweigh  his  own,  and  instead  of 
attempting  a  struggle  in  which  he  would  be  at  a  dis- 
advantage, he  leaves  the  great  poet  to  squander  the 
power  and  political  prestige  which  within  three 
months  will  have  disappeared. 

The  elections  for  the  Constituent  Assembly  take 
place  in  April.  Louis  Napoleon  does  not  offer  him- 
self as  a  candidate.  Three  of  his  cousins,  Prince 
Napoleon,  son  of  King  JdrSme,  Pierre  Bonaparte, 
son  of  Lucien  Bonaparte,  and  Lucien  Murat,  son  of 
the  King  of  Naples,  are  elected.  The  Assembly  holds 
its  first  session  on  May  4.  It  cheers  the  Republic 
seventeen  times  in  succession,  and  yet  the  majority 
of  the  representatives  is  reactionary.  The  man  of 
Boulogne  and  Strasburg  waits,  and  watches  his 
opportunity.  May  11,  he  writes  to  M.  Vieillard 
from  London:  "I  was  unwilling  to  present  myself  as 
a  candidate  for  the  elections,  because  I  was  con- 


314  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

vinced  that  my  presence  in  the  Assembly  would  have 
been  extremely  embarrassing.  ...  I  do  not  know 
whether  you  blame  me  for  this  resolution,  but  if  you 
knew  how  many  ridiculous  propositions  reach  me 
even  here,  you  would  comprehend  how  much  more  I 
should  be  exposed  to  all  these  intrigues  if  I  were  in 
Paris.  I  will  not  interfere  in  any  way;  I  desire  to 
see  the  Republic  increase  in  wisdom  and  in  power, 
and  meanwhile  exile  is  very  sweet  to  me,  because  I 
know  it  to  be  voluntary." 

The  Prince  learns  that  it  is  a  question  whether  to 
maintain  against  him  alone  the  law  of  exile  aimed  at 
the  Bonapartes,  enacted  in  1832.  On  hearing  this, 
he  addresses  a  letter  to  the  National  Assembly,  dated 
May  24,  which  concludes  as  follows:  "In  presence 
of  a  king  elected  by  two  hundred  deputies,  I  might 
remember  that  I  was  the  heir  of  an  empire  founded 
upon  the  consent  of  four  millions  of  Frenchmen ;  in 
presence  of  the  national  sovereignty,  I  neither  can 
nor  will  claim  any  rights  except  those  of  a  French 
citizen,  but  those  I  will  never  cease  to  assert  with 
all  the  energy  imparted  to  an  honest  soul  by  the 
feeling  that  he  has  never  wronged  his  country." 

Who  is  it  that  defends  the  Prince's  cause  before 
the  Assembly  ?  A  republican,  a  member  of  the  Pro- 
visional Government,  the  Minister  of  Justice,  Citi- 
zen Cre'mieux.  "The  renown  of  Napoleon,"  he  says 
in  the  tribune  on  June  2,  "remains  as  one  of  those 
immense  souvenirs  which  extend  over  the  history  of 
a  people  and  cover  it  with  an  eternal  splendor.     All 


LOUIS  NAPOLEON  DEPUTY  315 

that  is  popular  in  this  glory  we  accept  with  eager- 
ness; the  proscription  of  his  family  by  the  France 
of  to-day  would  be  a  shame."  The  Assembly  takes 
under  consideration  by  an  almost  unanimous  vote 
the  Pietri  proposition,  which  is  thus  worded: 
"Article  6  of  the  law  of  April  10,  1832,  relative 
to  the  banishment  of  the  Bonaparte  family,  is  abro- 
gated." The  imprudence  of  the  republicans  has  just 
opened  a  new  career  to  Louis  Napoleon. 

Supplementary  elections  take  place  on  June  4. 
The  Prince  does  not  present  himself,  but  some  of 
his  friends,  more  impatient  than  himself,  bring  for- 
ward his  name  without  his  knowledge.  Certain 
former  conspirators  of  Strasburg  and  Boulogne, 
MM.  de  Persigny,  Laity,  Bataille,  begin  to  bestir 
themselves.  Louis  Napoleon  does  not  appear,  or 
make  any  proclamation,  and  yet,  to  his  great  sur- 
prise, he  is  elected  by  four  departments:  the  Seine, 
Yonne,  Charente-Inferieure,  and  Corsica. 

In  spite  of  a  Bonapartist  agitation,  which  had 
begun  in  Paris  itself,  who  is  it  that  speaks  in  the 
Assembly  in  favor  of  confirming  the  election  of  the 
Prince?  Two  eminent  republicans:  Jules  Favre 
and  Louis  Blanc.  One  of  them  says :  "  Can  you  not 
understand  that  if  Citizen  Louis  Bonaparte  were  fool 
enough,  mad  enough,  to  dream  at  the  present  time  of 
a  sort  of  parody  of  what  he  did  in  1840,  he  would  be 
overwhelmed  by  the  contempt  of  his  fellow  citizens 
and  that  of  posterity?"  The  other  thus  expresses 
himself:  "The  Republic  is  like  the  sun.     Allow  the 


316  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

nephew  of  the  Emperor  to  approach  it.  I  am  sure 
that  he  will  disappear  in  its  beams."  The  admission 
of  the  Prince  is  voted  by  a  large  majority. 

Meanwhile  the  Bonapartist  agitation  in  Paris  con- 
tinues. There  are  meetings  on  the  terraces  of  the 
Tuileries,  on  the  Place  de  la  Concorde,  and  on  the 
boulevards.  A  Napoleonic  propaganda  which  as- 
sumes a  democratic  and  popular  form  is  openly 
carried  on.  The  Government  begins  to  be  uneasy. 
Thereupon  the  Prince  writes  from  London,  June  4, 
to  the  president  of  the  Assembly:  "I  was  about  to 
set  out  for  my  post  when  I  learned  that  my  election 
serves  as  a  pretext  for  deplorable  troubles  and  fatal 
errors.  I  did  not  seek  the  honor  of  being  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  people,  because  I  was  aware  of  the 
unjust  suspicions  of  which  I  am  the  object;  still  less 
did  I  seek  power."  The  following  sentence  comes 
near  spoiling  everything:  "If  the  people  impose 
duties  on  me,  I  shall  know  how  to  fulfil  them ;  but 
I  disavow  all  who  credit  me  with  ambitious  inten- 
tions which  I  have  not."  On  hearing  these  words 
read,  "If  the  people  impose  duties  on  me,  I  shall 
know  how  to  fulfil  them,"  a  violent  clamor  breaks 
out.  "  This  is  a  pretender!  "  is  shouted  on  all  sides. 
General  Cavaignac  springs  to  the  tribune  and  says : 
"  I  am  so  excited  by  emotion  that  I  cannot  express 
all  I  think  as  I  would  like  to.  But  what  I  notice  is 
that  in  this  document,  which  becomes  historic,  the 
word  Republic  does  not  appear."  If  a  vote  had  been 
taken,  the  Prince  would  certainly  have  been  con-" 


L0UI8  NAPOLEON  DEPUTY  817 

demned;  but  the  discussion  is  postponed  to  the  fol- 
lowing day,  June  16,  and  on  that  day  the  president 
of  the  Assembly  receives  another  letter  from  Louis 
Napoleon,  in  which  he  says :  "  I  desire  order  and  the 
maintenance  of  a  prudent,  great,  and  intelligent  Re- 
public, and  since  I  involuntarily  facilitate  disorder, 
I  place,  not  without  keen  regret,  my  resignation  in 
your  hands.  Soon,  I  hope,  tranquillity  -will  be  re- 
stored to  France,  and  I  shall  be  allowed  to  re-enter 
there  as  the  simplest  of  her  citizens,  and  also  as  one 
of  the  most  devoted  to  the  prosperity  of  the  country. " 

A  few  days  later  the  formidable  insurrection  of 
June  breaks  out.  It  is  a  great  piece  of  good  luck  for 
Louis  Napoleon  not  to  have  witnessed  it.  Present 
in  Paris,  he  would  have  been  obliged  to  declare  for 
one  or  other  of  the  parties  in  dispute.  Besides, 
there  were  many  Bonapartists  in  the  insurgent  ranks. 
It  was  far  better  for  him  to  be  playing  the  part  of  a 
special  constable  in  London  than  to  have  been  obliged 
to  put  on  the  uniform  of  a  national  guard  in  Paris. 
It  was  his  lucky  star  which  kept  him  out  of  all  par- 
ticipation in  the  Draconian  measures,  the  fusillades, 
the  wholesale  transportations,  which  were  the  con- 
clusion of  the  lamentable  days  of  June. 

The  insurrection  once  suppressed,  the  Prince 
makes  no  haste  to  come  upon  the  scene.  For  several 
weeks  he  seeks  to  make  himself  forgotten.  The 
National  Assembly  has  just  decreed  that  General 
Cavaignac  had  deserved  well  of  the  country,  and  he 
would  have  only  to  express  a  wish  for  the  dictator- 


318  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

ship  to  obtain  it.  To  attack  it  prematurely  would 
be  a  grave  mistake.  The  Prince  does  not  commit 
it.     He  keeps  patience  three  months  longer. 

Elections  are  to  take  place  in  September  to  fill  the 
existing  vacancies  in  the  National  Assembly.  In 
spite  of  the  rectitude  of  his  intentions,  General 
Cavaignac  has  incurred  enmities  in  the  ranks  of  the 
advanced  republicans,  and  still  more  among  the  con- 
servatives. Louis  Napoleon  concludes  that  it  is  time 
for  him  to  come  forward.  A  most  active  electoral 
propaganda  is  organized  in  his  favor.  He  is  nomi- 
nated by  five  departments,  —  Seine,  Moselle,  Yonne, 
Charente-Infe'rieure,  and  Corsica.  He  prefers  Paris, 
his  native  city.  When  the  elections  are  announced 
at  the  H6tel  de  Ville,  the  two  names  most  lustily 
cheered  by  the  crowd  are  his  and  that  of  Raspail. 

Coming  from  London,  the  new  deputy  arrives  in 
Paris  September  24,  and  lodges  at  the  HQtel  du  Rhin,. 
Place  Vend6me,  opposite  the  column.  The  National 
Assembly  has  been  in  session  for  some  time  the  next 
morning  when  all  eyes  begin  to  turn,  all  opera  glasses 
to  point,  toward  the  middle  of  the  left  side,  over 
the  bench  occupied  by  M.  de  Lamartine.  It  is  the 
Prince,  coming  in  quietly  through  a  lobby,  and  tak- 
ing his  place  on  one  of  the  benches  of  the  left, 
between  M.  Vieillard  and  M.  Havin.  Presently  he 
asks  leave  to  speak,  and,  ascending  the  tribune,  reads 
the  following  address:  "Citizen  representatives,  it 
is  impossible  for  me  to  keep  silence  after  the  calum- 
nies of  which  I  have  been  the  object.     I  must  give 


LOUIS  NAPOLEON  DEPUTY  319 

full  expression  here,  on  the  first  day  on  which  I  am 
permitted  to  seat  myself  amongst  you,  to  the  real 
sentiments  which  animate,  and  always  have  ani- 
mated, me.  After  thirty-three  years  of  proscription 
and  exile,  I  once  more  find  my  country  and  my  fellow 
citizens.  The  Republic  has  given  me  this  happi- 
ness ;  let  the  Republic  receive  nry  oath  of  gratitude 
and  devotion.  For  a  long  time  all  I  could  conse- 
crate to  France  were  the  meditations  of  exile  and 
captivity.  To-day  the  career  in  which  3tou  are 
marching  is  open  to  me ;  receive  me  into  your  ranks, 
my  dear  colleagues,  with  the  sentiments  of  affection- 
ate sympathy  by  which  I  myself  am  animated.  My 
conduct,  as  you  should  not  doubt,  will  always  be 
inspired  by  duty,  always  animated  by  respect  for 
law.  My  conduct  will  prove  that  no  man  here  is 
more  devoted  than  I  to  the  defence  of  order  and  the 
consolidation  of  the  Republic.,'  This  little  speech 
was  favorably  received  by  the  Assembly. 

As  a  deputy,  Louis  Napoleon  maintains  a  prudent 
reserve.  His  appearances  at  the  Chamber  are  very 
infrequent.  As  crowds  station  themselves  in  front 
of  the  railing  to  see  him  pass,  he  enters  through  the 
small  doors  in  order  to  shun  curiosity.  He  takes  his 
seat  on  the  left,  but  he  votes  neither  with  the  left 
nor  the  light. 

An  adroit  tactician,  he  withdraws  on  important 
occasions.  He  chats  very  politely  with  his  col- 
leagues of  different  parties,  but  never  commits  him- 
self, or  abandons  safe  generalities.     However,  as  he 


320  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

is  courteous,  has  an  air  of  modesty,  and  always  pre- 
serves a  well-bred  calm,  he  makes  friends  of  several 
of  his  neighbors,  and  habitually  oscillates  between 
the  republicans  and  the  royalists,  seeking  to  gain 
the  sympathies  of  each.  But  if  one  studies  him 
closely,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  he  is  out  of  his  element 
in  the  hall  of  the  Palais-Bourbon,  and  that  for  this 
hap-hazard  deputy  the  legislative  mandate  is  but  a 
stepping-stone. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

THE  PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTION 

TP  to  the  time  of  his  escape  from  the  fortress 
^  of  Ham,  Louis  Napoleon  had  been  pursued  by 
fatality.  All  his  enterprises  had  failed  in  a  wretched 
manner.  One  might  have  said  his  forehead  was 
branded  with  the  indelible  mark  of  proscription  and 
misfortune.  Disgraced,  flouted,  vilipended,  ridiculed 
in  every  way,  disowned  even  by  his  family,  exciting 
a  disdain  yet  more  offensive  than  anger,  he  seemed 
forever  condemned  to  irreparable  failures.  Suddenly, 
as  if  at  the  stroke  of  a  magic  wand,  the  same  person 
is  to  become,  no  one  knows  why,  the  favorite  of 
fortune,  and  to  profit  by  one  of  the  most  unforeseen, 
most  extraordinary,  most  unheard-of  chances  that 
ever  carried  a  politician  to  the  pinnacle  of  power. 
All  that  should  have  harmed  him  will  turn  to  his 
advantage,  and  the  very  persons  who  ought,  it  would 
seem,  to  have  been  his  most  dangerous  adversaries 
will  contribute  to  his  triumph. 

It  is  the  5th  of  October,  1848.  The  National 
Assembly  is  about  to  decide  on  the  mode  of  electing 
the  president  of  the  Republic.  If  it  decrees  that  he 
should  be  appointed  by  itself,  there  is  no  manner  of 

t  321 


322  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

doubt  that  General  Cavaignac  will  be  elected.  It 
seems,  then,  as  if  all  the  republicans  would  agree 
in  order  to  bring  about  such  a  combination.  Well ! 
the  contrary  happens ;  and  the  man  who  induces  the 
Assembly  to  have  the  head  of  the  state  appointed 
directly  by  means  of  universal  suffrage,  and  thus 
prepares  the  downfall  of  the  Second  Republic,  is  its 
founder,  M.  de  Lamartine.  "  I  have  faith,"  he  says, 
"  in  the  maturity  of  a  country  which  fifty-five  years 
of  political  life  have  fashioned  to  liberty ;  but  should 
this  confidence  prove  to  be  misplaced,  I  will  repeat 
that  there  are  epochs  when  we  must  say,  like  the 
ancients :  Aha  jacta  est,  the  die  is  cast !  Something 
must  be  left  to  Providence,  who  knows  better  than 
we  what  is  suitable  for  us."  The  poet  prophet  ter- 
minates his  fatalistic  discourse  in  this  fashion:  "If 
the  people  will  to  be  led  back  into  the  paths  of 
monarchy,  if  it  desire  to  quit  the  realities  of  the 
Republic,  and  run  after  a  meteor  which  will  burn 
its  hands,  it  is  free  to  do  so ;  after  all,  it  is  the  real 
King;  it  is  its  own  Sovereign,  and  there  will  be 
nothing  left  for  us  except  to  say,  like  old  Cato : 
Victrix  causa  diis  placuit  sed  victa  Catoni."  The 
amendment  of  M.  Grevy  which  would  suppress  the 
presidency  of  the  Republic  is  rejected  by  643  votes 
against  138.  By  a  vote  of  627  against  130,  the 
following  article  of  the  Constitution  is  adopted : 
"The  president  of  the  Republic  is  elected  by  ballot 
and  by  an  absolute  majority  of  voters,  by  universal 
suffrage." 


THE  PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTION  323 

Louis  Napoleon  has  just  taken  a  long  step  for- 
ward. But  parliamentary  ground  is  a  quicksand. 
The  Prince  still  needs  great  reserve  and  prudence. 
Any  proposition  well  presented  to  the  Assembly 
might  crush  his  imperial  eagle  in  the  shell.  The 
future  Caesar  must  disguise  himself  skilfully  under 
the  republican  mask.  It  is  his  interest  to  belittle 
himself.  He  will  not  succeed  unless  he  can  lull  the 
suspicions  of  the  old  parties  by  persuading  them 
that  at  the  close  of  four  years  of  power  he  will  be 
thoroughly  used  up.  The  Prince  intends  the  masses 
to  consider  him  a  providential  man,  but  the  Bur- 
graves  (the  name  given  to  the  principal  royalist 
deputies)  to  rate  him  as  a  nullity. 

After  the  attempts  of  Strasburg  and  Boulogne,  it 
would  seem  natural  that  Louis  Napoleon  should  be 
treated  as  a  pretender.  The  Republic  has  exiled 
both  branches  of  the  Bourbons.  It  would  seem 
quite  simple  that  it  should  exile  the  Bonapartes  also, 
or,  at  any  rate,  that  one  of  them  who  has  posed  as 
the  Emperor's  heir.  Even  if  he  were  not  exiled,  it 
might  be  decreed  "that  he  cannot  be  a  candidate  for 
the  supreme  magistracy  in  a  republican  country. 

October  9,  M.  Antony  Thouret  supports  the  fol- 
lowing amendment:  "No  member  of  the  families 
which  have  reigned  in  France  may  be  elected  presi- 
dent or  vice-president  of  the  Republic."  M.  Lacaze 
exclaims :  "  He  who  might  affect  pretensions  to 
sovereignty  is  here.  Let  him  explain  himself !  He 
has  protested  his  devotion  to  the  Republic ;   ought 


324  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

we  to  deem  him  capable  of  failing  in  this  solemn 
obligation?"  All  eyes  turn  instantly  towards  the 
Prince.  Speak!  Speak!  the  whole  Assembly  cries 
to  him.  This  time  he  has  nothing  ready,  no  dis- 
course to  read;  he  is  obliged  to  improvise.  Luckily 
for  him,  he  has  absolutely  no  talent  for  oratory. 
Should  he  make  a  fine  address,  should  he  succeed 
as  a  parliamentary  speaker,  he  would  arouse  the  sus- 
picions of  his  colleagues  and  seriously  compromise 
his  cause.  But  he  hesitates,  he  hums  and  haws. 
He  articulates  with  difficulty  these  few  sentences, 
interrupted  by  several  pauses:  "I  do  not  come  to 
speak  against  the  amendment.  Certainly,  I  have 
been  recompensed  enough  in  regaining  my  rights 
as  a  citizen  to  have  now  no  further  ambition.  But 
it  is  in  the  name  of  the  three  hundred  thousand 
electors  who  have  elected  me  that  I  come  to  protest 
against  and  that  I  disavow  the  name  of  pretender 
which  people  are  always  throwing  at  my  head." 
The  Prince  comes  down  from  the  tribune.  M.  Antony 
Thouret  goes  back  to  it,  and  says  disdainfully,  that 
after  what  he  has  just  seen  and  heard,  he  withdraws 
his  amendment  as  being  henceforth  useless.  The 
Assembly  laughs ;  the  Prince  they  are  jibing  at 
remains  impassible. 

Louis  Napoleon  has  nothing  further  to  dread; 
people  think  him  mediocre.  They  will  allow  him 
to  become  president  of  the  Republic. 

The  electoral  contest  begins.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  curious  recorded  in  history.     France  and  all 


THE  PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTION  325 

Europe  attach  extraordinary  importance  to  it.  It 
narrows  itself  between  two  competitors :  Louis  Na- 
poleon and  General  Cavaignac.  The  Prince  is  forty 
years  old,  and  the  general  forty-six.  The  souvenir 
of  the  imperial  epic  is  linked  to  the  one,  and  that 
of  the  African  wars  to  the  other.  Honest  Bonapart- 
ists  cannot  avoid  paying  homage  to  a  character  like 
that  of  General  Cavaignac.  "In  all  respects,"  M. 
Emile  Ollivier  has  said,  "such  a  man  was  worthy 
of  the  supreme  magistracy."  If  Louis  Napoleon  had 
been  his  sole  antagonist,  the  general  would  doubtless 
have  been  the  victor.  But  his  real  competitor  was 
not  the  nephew  of  the  Emperor,  but  the  Emperor 
himself.  Cavaignac  will  be  vanquished  by  a  shade. 
The  all-powerful  agent  of  the  electoral  propaganda 
is  a  dead  man  —  is  Napoleon.  Defunctus  adhuc 
loquitur.  Caesar  made  Augustus;  Napoleon  First 
will  make  Napoleon  Third. 

Within  a  few  days  the  Prince  holds  all  the  cards. 
His  candidacy  is  favored  by  politicians  who  ought, 
it  would  seem,  to  be  the  most  opposed  to  it.  He 
is  supported  by  legitimists  like  M.  Berryer  and 
Comte  de  Falloux,  by  former  ministers  of  King 
Louis  Philippe  like  M.  Thiers,  M.  Guizot,  M.  Mole*, 
the  Due  de  Broglie.  The  most  heterogeneous  ele- 
ments, the  most  contrary  forces,  from  partisans  of 
divine  right  to  socialists,  combine  in  his  favor.  His 
electoral  manifesto  is  not  of  a  nature  to  alarm  or 
discourage  any  one.  "  If  I  were  elected  president," 
he  says,  "I  would  devote  myself  entirely,  without 


326  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

mental  reservation,  to  the  consolidation  of  a  republic 
wise  in  its  laws,  honest  in  its  intentions,  great  and 
strong  in  its  deeds.  I  would  make  it  a  point  of 
honor  to  leave  to  my  successor,  at  the  end  of  four 
years,  this  power  confirmed,  liberty  intact,  a  real 
progress  accomplished." 

M.  Thiers,  to  whom  the  Prince  submitted  this 
manifesto  before  publishing,  protested  against  it  in 
vain.  "What  are  you  about?"  he  exclaimed. 
"Strike  out  this  imprudent  sentence.  Beware  of 
promises  of  this  kind."  The  sentence  was  not  sup- 
pressed. The  manifesto  terminated  with  this  noble 
thought  which,  unfortunately,  Louis  Napoleon  for- 
got when  he  attained  to  power :  "  The  Republic 
should  be  generous  and  have  faith  in  its  future ; 
hence  I,  who  have  known  exile  and  captivity,  ar- 
dently invoke  the  day  when  the  country  can  without 
danger  put  an  end  to  all  proscriptions  and  efface 
the  last  traces  of  our  civil  discords." 

The  success  of  the  Prince's  candidacy  was  very 
soon  beyond  a  doubt.  General  Cavaignac  disposed 
of  all  the  governmental  forces,  but  his  competitor 
had  a  name  which  was  a  talisman.  Men  had  for- 
gotten what  France  suffered  under  the  Empire  to 
remember  only  the  glory  it  had  given  it.  M.  Pierre 
de  La  Gorce  has  said  in  his  Histoire  de  la  Seconde 
RSpublique :  "  Peoples  are  made  that  way ;  when 
the  sacrifices  demanded  of  them  have  cost  equality 
nothing  and  have  been  rewarded  by  glory,  they  end 
by  forgetting  the  price  of  these  sacrifices  ;   to  the 


TEE  PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTION  327 

powers  which  have  abused  thein  most  they  are  ready 
to  offer  their  blood  anew,  just  as  vines  give  their 
most  generous  substance  to  those  who  tread  them 
under  foot  in  the  wine  press." 

The  partisans  of  both  candidates  in  Paris  and  the 
provinces,  and  above  all  in  country  places,  engaged 
in  controversies  whose  violence  often  equalled  their 
bad  taste.  The  Prince  was  unceremoniously  called 
an  idiot,  and  General  Cavaignac  a  slaughterer.  But 
the  two  adversaries  were  personally  as  correct,  as 
courteous,  as  their  partisans  were  deficient  in  those 
qualities.  A  workman  brought  the  Prince  a  litho- 
graphic stone  on  which  the  general  was  represented 
as  an  executioner  massacring  the  defeated  men  of 
June:  "How  much  do  you  want  for  this  stone?" 
demanded  Louis  Napoleon.  The  workman  having 
named  his  price,  the  Prince  paid  it  and  then,  sending 
for  a  hammer,  broke  the  stone  in  pieces.  On  his 
part,  General  Cavaignac,  a  man  as  well  bred  as  his 
rival,  did  not  say  a  single  offensive  word  against 
him. 

The  unpublished  Memoirs  of  General  Fleury,  the 
devoted  adherent  and  faithful  friend  of  Napoleon 
III.,  contain  some  very  curious  details  concerning 
the  period  of  the  presidential  election.  The  gen- 
eral, then  a  major  of  spahis,  on  leave  in  Paris,  went 
to  the  Hdtel  du  Rhin  to  call  on  the  Prince,  to  whom 
he  had  been  presented  in  London  in  1837.  Louis 
Napoleon  received  him  as  an  old  comrade  who  had 
not  been  forgotten.    Accepting  his  proffered  services, 


328  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

he  said :  "  Among  the  crowd  who  hang  around  the 
Place  Vend6me,  to  watch  me  when  I  go  out,  there 
may  be  ill-intentioned  persons.  Some  of  the  reports 
I  receive  from  trusty  agents,  tell  me  that  I  incur 
great  dangers.  Although  I  put  very  little  faith  in 
these  sinister  predictions,  it  is  my  duty  to  protect 
myself  against  perils  that  are  pointed  out  to  me. 
Hence  I  never  go  out  without  a  revolver  and  a 
sword-cane.  As  you  are  going  to  play  the  part  of 
my  aide-de-camp,  until  you  shall  be  such  in  reality, 
I  confide  to  you  the  attributes*  of  your  commission." 
Then  the  Prince  drew  a  revolver  from  a  drawer, 
and  taking  a  sword-cane  from  the  chimney-piece, 
he  shook  hands  with  his  new  coadjutor  and  gave 
him  these  weapons. 

Some  days  afterward,  Louis  Napoleon  being  out 
riding  with  Commandant  Fleury,  they  passed  over 
the  Quai  d'Orsay,  where  the  2d  Dragoons  were  in 
barracks  under  the  command  of  Comte  de  Goyon, 
who  in  1816  had  replaced  my  father  there  as  colonel. 
The  Prince  was  tempted  to  enter  the  barracks.  But 
let  General  Fleury  tell  the  story. 

"  Hardly  had  I  told  the  non-commissioned  officer 
of  the  Guard  the  name  of  the  almost  unknown 
visitor,  when  this  magic  name  flew  from  mouth  to 
mouth,  and  from  one  story  to  another,  and  the 
soldiers  running  to  their  windows,  shouted  for 
Louis  Napoleon  with  all  their  might.  The  colonel 
of  the  regiment,  who  happened  to  be  at  the  barracks, 
carried   away  by  this   example,  shared   the  sponta- 


THE  PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTION  329 

neous  movement,  and  with  a  vibrant  voice  cried: 
"  Long  live  Napoleon  !  " 

Still  another  passage  from  the  Memoirs :  "  A  very- 
short  time  before  the  election,  I  had  accompanied 
the  Prince  to  the  house  of  M.  Thiers,  Place  Saint- 
Georges.  On  our  way  back  he  said  to  me :  '  What 
a  singular  little  man  M.  Thiers  is!  Just  now  he 
asked  me  what  costume  I  would  assume  when 
elected  president,  a  civil  or  a  military  one.  "That 
of  the  First  Consul  would  be  very  suitable,  it  seems 
to  me."  —  "I  don't  know  yet,"  I  replied.  "  But  prob- 
ably I  shall  select  either  the  uniform  of  a  general  of 
the  National  Guard,  or  of  the  army."  —  "  But  then," 
said  M.  Thiers,  "how  would  you  expect  us  to  do, 
I  or  some  one  else  when  we  are  called  to  succeed 
you  ?  Believe  me,  Prince,  take  the  dress  of  the  First 
Consul."  I  did  not  insist,  and  left  him  believing 
that  I  would  follow  his  advice.' " 

The  result  of  the  election  was  no  longer  doubt- 
ful. "The  steady  current  of  the  most  contrary 
opinions,"  M.  Odilon  Barrot  has  written,  "had  be- 
come irresistible.  .  .  .  Let  no  one  say  that  such 
or  such  a  personage  who  supported  this  election 
is  politically  responsible  for  it.  .  .  .  MM.  Mole* 
and  Thiers,  for  example,  who  believed  they  ought 
to  favor  openly  the  candidacy  of  Louis  Napoleon, 
have  merited  neither  reproach  nor  thanks  on  that 
account,  for  though  they  had  abstained  from  vot- 
ing, as  I  did,  the  result  would  have  been  abso- 
lutely the  same." 


330  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

The  balloting,  opened  on  December  10  and  11, 
gave  the  following  results :  — 

Voters       7,517,811. 

Louis  Napoleon 5,572,834 

Cavaignac          1,469,156 

Ledru-Rollin 376,834 

Raspail              37,106 

Lamartine          20,938 

Changarnier 4,687 

December  20,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
just  as  the  National  Assembly  was  discussing  the 
draught  of  a  proposed  law  of  minor  importance,  the 
member  of  the  commission  who  had  been  appointed 
to  draw  up  the  official  report  of  the  presidential 
election  was  seen  to  enter  the  hall.  This  was 
M.  Waldeck-Rousseau.  He  announced  the  result. 
Then  M.  Armand  Marrast,  president  of  the  National 
Assembly,  proclaimed  Charles-Louis-Napoleon  Bona- 
parte president  of  the  Republic.  General  Cavaignac 
afterwards  asked  leave  to  speak,  and  uttered  but  this 
one  sentence,  which  was  greeted  by  loud  applause : 
"The  National  Assembly  will  comprehend  better 
than  I  can  express  the  sentiments  of  gratitude 
which  I  derive  from  the  remembrance  of  its  con- 
fidence and  kindness  towards  me."  As  soon  as 
the  general  came  down  from  the  tribune,  the  new 
president  of  the  Republic  ascended  it.  In  a  black 
coat,  with  the  star  of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  he  took 
the   oath  prescribed  by  the  Constitution   and   pro- 


THE  PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTION  331 

nounced,  amidst  profound  silence,  a  short  harangue : 
"  The  suffrages  of  the  nation,"  said  he,  "  and  the 
oath  I  have  just  taken  will  guide  my  future  conduct. 
I  shall  see  the  country's  enemies  in  all  those  who 
seek  to  change  by  illegal  means  what  France  has 
established.  I  have  called  honest  and  capable  men, 
devoted  to  the  country,  to  my  assistance,  convinced 
that  in  spite  of  diversities  of  political  origin,  they 
will  agree  to  concur  with  me  in  the  application  of 
the  Constitution,  the  improvement  of  the  law,  and 
the  glory  of  the  Republic."  Then  he  paid  this 
deserved  compliment  to  his  competitor:  "The  con- 
duct of  the  honorable  General  Cavaignac  has  been 
worthy  of  the  loyalty  of  his  character  and  of  that 
sentiment  of  duty  which  is  the  chief  quality  of  a 
ruler  of  state."  And  he  concluded  thus  a  discourse 
which  was  well  received  by  the  Assembly :  "  We 
have  a  great  mission  to  fulfil,  and  that  is  to  found 
a  Republic  in  the  interest  of  all,  and  a  just,  firm 
government  which  shall  be  animated  by  a  sincere 
love  of  country  without  being  reactionary  or  Utopian. 
Let  us  be  men  of  the  country  and  not  men  of  a 
party,  and,  God  helping,  we  shall  at  least  do  good 
if  we  cannot  do  great  things."  Descending  from  the 
tribune,  the  Prince  went  up  as  far  as  the  bench  on 
which  General  Cavaignac  was  sitting,  and  offered 
him  his  hand.  The  general,  in  surprise,  allowed  his 
hand  to  be  taken  rather  than  gave  it.  Then  Louis 
Napoleon  left  the  hall  and,  attended  by  several 
friends,  went  to  the   Ely  see  palace,  which  he   had 


332  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

chosen  for  his  residence.  He  wag  to  remain  there 
three  years,  and  leave  it  only  to  take  possession  of 
the  Tuileries. 

Commandant  Fleury,  who  was  to  organize  the 
household  of(  the  new  president  of  the  Republic, 
had  got  ready  the  carriage  and  horses  which  con- 
veyed him  from  the  Palais-Bourbon  to  the  Elys6e. 
The  carriage  was  a  large  coupe"  which  had  belonged 
to  the  Princesse  de  LieVen,  M.  Guizot's  friend.  The 
two  horses  had  been  bought  from  General  Cavaignac, 
who  purchased  them  in  Algeria,  after  the  revolution 
of  February,  at  the  sale  of  the  Due  d'Aumale's 
stud.  On  either  side  of  the  carriage,  driven  by  one 
Ledoux  who  had  been  Louis  Philippe's  coachman, 
rode  Colonel  Edgard  Ney  and  Commandant  Fleury, 
one  destined  to  be  thereafter  master  of  the  hounds 
and  the  other  grand  equerry  of  the  Emperor.  On 
entering  the  Elysee,  the  President  was  greatly  sur- 
prised at  finding  all  the  requisites  for  a  princely 
abode.  Footmen  in  the  imperial  livery  were  mar- 
shalled in  the  ante-chamber.  The  Swiss  porter  was 
striking  his  halberd  on  the  ground,  and  ushers  were 
stationed  at  the  inner  doors.  "  The  Prince  sat  down 
at  table,"  General  Fleury  tells  us  in  his  Memoirs. 
"  At  this  first  dinner  intimate  friends  were  present  : 
Persigny,  Laity,  Mocquard,  Bataille,  Colonel  Vaudrey, 
Edgard  Ney,  and  I.  The  dinner,  though  not  elabo- 
rate, was  well  served.  The  long  gallery,  with  its 
paintings  by  Carle  Vernet,  brought  back  the  days 
of  his  earliest  childhood  to  the  Prince.     He  seemed 


THE  PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTION  333 

to  feel  the  contentment  of  a  traveller  who,  after  long 
years  of  absence,  returns  to  his  own  home." 

Louis  Napoleon's  guests  at  the  first  dinner  at  the 
Elyse'e  were  all  ardent  Bonapartists.  But  not  one 
of  the  ministers  whom  the  Prince  had  just  appointed 
belonged  to  that  party.  By  the  antecedents  of  its 
members,  two  names  alone  excepted,  the  cabinet  of 
December  20,  1848,  was  a  ministry  of  the  left  centre 
and  Orleanist.  An  eminent  orator,  a  distinguished 
representative  of  the  honest  and  liberal  middle 
classes,  M.  Odilon  Barrot,  president  of  the  Council 
and  Minister  of  Justice,  had  been  a  loyal  partisan 
of  the  July  monarchy,  and  his  opposition  while  that 
lasted  had  never  ceased  to  be  dynastic.  The  politi- 
cal affinities  of  his  colleagues,  General  Rulhi&re, 
MM.  Drouyn  de  Lhuys,  de  Malleville,  de  Tracy, 
Hippolyte  Passy,  Le"on  Faucher,  all  recommended 
to  Louis  Napoleon's  choice  by  M.  Thiers,  resembled 
those  of  M.  Odilon  Barrot.  There  was  but  one  repub- 
lican in  the  cabinet,  M.  Bixio,  and  he  kept  his  port- 
folio only  a  few  days.  The  sole  legitimist  minister 
was  Corate  de  Falloux,  who  had  been  induced  to 
accept  the  double  portfolio  of  Public  Instruction 
and  of  Worship  by  the  urgent  solicitations  of  MM. 
Mold,  Thiers,  de  Montalembert,  Madame  Swetchine, 
and  the  Abbe"  Dupanloup,  who  hoped  through  his 
influence  to  secure  the  passage  of  the  law  granting 
liberty  of  instruction,  so  keenly  desired  by  the  Catho- 
lic party.  However,  M.  de  Falloux  hesitated  much 
before  accepting.     "  I  wished,"  said  the  Prince,  "  to 


334  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

rely  upon  the  Conservatives,  but  since  this  point  of 
support  fails  me,  I  shall  seek  one  elsewhere.  To-day 
the  legitimist  party  (by  preventing  M.  de  Falloux 
from  accepting)  raises  its  standard;  to-morrow  the 
Orleanist  party  will  do  likewise.  I  cannot  remain 
in  the  air,  and  I  shall  ask  the  left  for  the  support 
which  the  right  is  not  willing  to  lend  me.  I  will 
see  M.  Jules  Favre  this  evening."  This  threat  had 
put  an  end  to  the  hesitation  of  Comte  de  Falloux. 
As  to  General  Changarnier,  called  by  the  president 
of  the  Republic  to  the  double  command  of  the  1st 
Military  Division  and  the  National  Guards  of  the 
Seine,  although  this  plurality  of  offices  was  contrary 
to  the  law  of  1831,  the  royalist  salons  found  it  pleas- 
ant to  consider  him  as  a  future  Monk,  and  proposed 
doing  all  in  their  power  to  cajole  and  win  him  over. 

Fated  to  struggle  against  embarrassments  and 
difficulties  of  every  kind,  Louis  Napoleon  was  now 
to  oscillate  between  the  right  and  the  left  as  he  did 
afterwards  between  the  Papacy  and  the  Italian  revo- 
lution, between  Russia  and  Turkey,  between  Austria 
and  Prussia.  This  see-saw  system,  so  fatal  to  him 
from  the  standpoint  of  foreign  policy,  was  from  the 
domestic  point  of  view  marvellously  favorable  to 
the  accomplishment  of  his  designs.  His  mother, 
very  ambitious  for  her  race  if  not  for  herself,  in  spite 
of  all  her  protestations  of  detachment  from  human 
things,  had  left  him  written  counsels  by  which  lie 
was  to  be  guided.  In  this  programme  Queen  Hor- 
tense  said:   "Napoleon,  the  author  of  our  celebrity, 


THE  PBESIDENTIAL  ELECTION  335 

doubtless  crushed  peoples  under  the  weight  of  his 
ambition,  but  he  has  awakened  magnificent  hopes 
among  all  the  poor  and  astonishing  admiration  every- 
where. .  .  .  When  those  who  own  property  are 
afraid  of  losing  their  advantages,  promise  to  be  their 
guaranty.  If  it  is  the  people  who  suffer,  show  that 
you  have  been  oppressed  like  them ;  make  it  under- 
stood that  apart  from  you  there  is  no  safety.  Be- 
lieve that  it  is  not  impossible  to  become  literally 
an  idol,  something  like  the  Redeemer. 

"  It  is  so  easy,  moreover,  to  gain  the  affections  of 
the  people.  They  have  the  simplicity  of  childhood. 
If  they  think  you  are  occupying  yourself  about  them, 
they  leave  you  free  to  do  it ;  it  is  only  when  they 
believe  there  is  injustice  and  treason  that  they  re- 
volt. .  .  .  Rebuff  nobody,  yet  give  yourself  away 
to  nobody.  Welcome  every  one,  even  the  sight- 
seers, the  schemers,  the  advisers.  All  that  is  ser- 
viceable. ...  Be  everywhere  a  little,  always 
prudent,  always  free,  and  show  yourself  only  when 
the  opportune  moment  comes." 

It  was  in  following  such  a  line  of  conduct,  in 
applying  the  maxim  "divide  to  reign,"  and  in  using 
men  of  the  most  opposite  opinions,  and  elements  the 
most  contradictory  to  attain  his  end,  that  Louis 
Napoleon  was  to  profit  by  his  imperturbable  calm- 
ness, his  surprising  temperament,  his  power  of  dis- 
simulation, his  experience  as  a  conspirator,  his 
hardihood  as  a  political  gamester,  and  his  faculty  of 
tranquil  and  sweet  seductiveness. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

THE  ELYSBB 

r~pO  the  mind  of  the  new  president  of  the  Re- 
public  the  Elyse'e  suggested  ideas  alternately 
brilliant  and  sinister.  This  elegant  palace  has  had 
the  most  widely  different  destinies.  Built  in  1718, 
it  was  successively  the  residence  of  the  Comte  d'Ev- 
reux,  the  Marquise  de  Pompadour,  her  brother  the 
Marquis  de  Marigny,  the  financier  Beaujon,  and  the 
Duchesse  de  Bourbon,  mother  of  the  Due  d'Enghien. 
When  this  princess  emigrated,  the  Elyse'e  became 
national  property,  and  was  handed  over  to  con- 
tractors, who  gave  public  balls  in  the  gardens,  and 
transformed  the  palace  into  a  sort  of  casino,  where 
games  of  chance,  roulette  especially,  were  played. 
Murat  bought  it  in  1803,  and  when  he  went  to 
occupy  the  throne  of  Naples,  transferred  it  to  the 
Emperor,  who  gave  it  to  Josephine  after  the  divorce, 
and  who  resided  there  during  a  part  of  the  Hundred 
Days.  It  was  from  there  that  he  departed  for  Water- 
loo, and  there  he  signed  his  second  abdication.  Under 
the  reign  of  Louis  XVIII.,  the  Elyse'e  was  the  dwell- 
ing of  the  Due  and  Duchesse  de  Berry  from  the 
date  of  their  marriage  until  the  day  when  the  Prince 

336 


THE  ELYSEE  337 


was  stricken  down  by  Louvel's  poniard.  One  of 
the  earliest  memories  of  the  president  of  the  Repub- 
lic was  of  seeing  his  uncle,  the  Emperor,  at  the 
Elyse*e.  There  the  power  of  Napoleon  First  had 
given  way.  There  that  of  Napoleon  Third  was  to 
be  established. 

January  1,  1849,  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
the  President,  wearing  the  uniform  of  a  general  of 
the  National  Guard,  and  surrounded  by  Marshals 
Molitor,  Se'bastiani,  Bugeaud,  Reille,  and  Admiral 
de  Mackau,  all  in  full  uniform,  received  the  officials 
and  diplomatic  corps.  To  the  nuncio  he  expressed 
the  hope  of  seeing  Pius  IX.  speedily  restored  to  his 
dominions.  January  4  he  went  to  install  King 
Je'r&'me  as  governor  of  the  Invalides,  and  was  re- 
ceived at  the  entrance  of  the  hotel  by  General  Petit, 
made  famous  by  the  farewells  of  Fontainebleau.  On 
the  17th  he  dined  at  the  house  of  M.  de  Falloux, 
Minister  of  Public  Instruction.  Among  the  guests 
one  noted  M.  Armand  Marrast,  president  of  the 
National  Assembly,  the  Archbishop  of  Paris,  Marshal 
Bugeaud,  Generals  Changarnier,  Bedeau,  de  Lamori- 
cidre,  MM.  Thiers,  Mold,  de  Noailles,  Viennet, 
Victor  Hugo,  Cousin,  de  Saint-Priest,  de  Maille\ 
de  Mouchy.  Berryer,  de  La  Rochejaquelein.  January 
29,  Louis  Napoleon  dined  at  the  house  of  M.  Ldon 
Faucher,  Minister  of  the  Interior,  with  MM.  Armand 
Marrast,  de  Rdmusat,  Mold,  Berryer,  de  Montalem- 
bert,  Mignet,  Meye.beer,  de  Luynes,  Victor  Hugo, 
Me'rime'e,  Marshal  Bugeaud,   General  Changarnier. 


338  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Februar}^  16,  he  gave  a  ball  at  the  Elysde  which  was 
attended  by  the  most  eclectic  society.  The  National 
Assembly  was  represented  by  MM.  Mole*,  Thiers, 
Guinard,  Flbcon,  Bixio,  Armand  Marrast,  General 
Cavaignac,  General  Changarnier.  The  faubourg 
Saint-Germain  had  sent  some  of  its  greatest  ladies. 
All  eyes  rested  on  Madame  de  Gramont  (mother 
of  the  Duke,  who  was  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs 
in  1870),  with  whom  the  President  promenaded  for 
a  long  time  in  the  salons.  The  Patrie  newspaper 
described  the  ball  in  an  article  reproduced  by  the 
Moniteur,  in  which  it  said :  "  This  fete,  which  was 
characterized  by  the  most  cordial  gaiety  and  the 
most  excellent  good  taste,  will  doubtless  produce 
the  best  effect  on  the  Parisian  public ;  it  will  help 
to  restore  confidence  in  the  commercial  world  and 
the  laboring  classes  of  the  population,  who  have  long 
been  alarmed  and  discouraged  by  hearing  it  repeated 
in  every  tone  that  the  fashionable  classes  are  going 
away." 

February  24,  the  anniversary  of  the  Revolution, 
Mass  was  said  at  the  Madeleine  by  the  Archbishop  of 
Paris.  The  President  was  present.  I  seem  still  to 
see  him  going  up  the  church  steps  in  the  uniform 
of  a  general  of  the  National  Guard,  with  the  grand 
cordon  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  and  a  silver-laced  hat 
surmounted  by  a  very  tall  tricolored  plume.  In  the 
evening  the  public  edifices  were  illuminated. 

The  next  day,  Louis  Napoleon  inaugurated  the 
section  of  the  railway  from  Creil  to  Saint  Quentin 


THE  ELYSEE  339 


lying  between  Compi&gne  and  Noyon.  In  the  latter 
city  he  said :  "  I  share  the  desire  of  the  country  for  the 
consolidation  of  the  Republic.  I  hope  that  all  the 
parties  by  which  the  country  has  been  divided  for 
the  last  forty  years  may  find  here  a  neutral  ground 
where  they  can  agree  to  unite  for  the  greatness  and 
prosperity  of  France."  He  held  a  review  at  Com- 
pidgne  the  same  day.  He  held  another  in  Paris,  at 
the  Champs  de  Mars,  the  21st  of  May,  forty  thousand 
men  taking  part  in  it.  After  the  review  he  wrote  to 
General  Changarnier :  "  With  soldiers  like  these  our 
young  Republic  would  soon  resemble  its  elder,  that 
of  Marengo  and  Hohenlinden,  if  the  foreigners  forced 
us  to  it.  And  within,  if  the  anarchists  raised  their 
flag,  they  would  be  instantly  reduced  to  order  by  this 
army  ever  faithful  to  duty  and  honor.  To  praise  the 
troops  is  to  praise  the  chief  who  commands  them.  I 
am  glad  of  this  new  occasion  of  expressing  to  you 
my  private  sentiments  of  high  esteem  and  friend- 
ship." At  this  time  there  was  complete  accord  be- 
tween the  President  and  General  Changarnier.  Nor 
did  any  conflict  arise  between  Louis  Napoleon  and 
the  Constituent  Assembly,  which  broke  up  May  27, 
1849,  and  was  replaced  by  the  Legislative  Assembly 
on  the  following  day. 

The  new  Assembly  was  composed  of  more  than 
seven  hundred  members.  Five  hundred  of  these 
were  conservatives,  nearly  two  hundred  of  them  be- 
longing to  the  legitimist  party,  while  the  rest  were 
former  friends  of  the  July  monarchy.     The  moderate 


340  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

republicans  numbered  about  severity,  and  the  social- 
ists one  hundred  and  eighty.  The  majority  were 
averse  to  tha  republican  regime,  but  did  not  agree  in 
their  schemes  for  a  monarchical  restoration.  The 
Assembly  was  divided  against  itself. 

One  especially  irritating  subject,  the  Roman  ques- 
tion, divided  the  Right  from  the  Left.  After  the 
assassination  of  his  minister,  M.  Rossi,  Pius  IX.,  who 
was  threatened  by  the  revolution,  had  succeeded  in 
escaping  from  his  capital,  November  24,  1848,  and 
had  taken  refuge  in  Gaeta,  on  Neapolitan  ground. 
February  9,  1849,  a  Constituent  Assembly,  held  in 
Rome,  had  proclaimed  the  downfall  of  the  pontifical 
power  and  the  establishment  of  the  Republic.  At 
Novara,  March  23,  the  Piedmontese  army  had  been 
destroyed  by  the  Austrians.  Charles  Albert  having 
abdicated,  his  son  Victor  Emmanuel  had  ascended 
the  throne.  The  French  Government  had  allowed 
Austria  to  vanquish  at  Novara,  but  wished  to  pre- 
vent its  intervention  at  Rome.  The  National  Assem- 
bly, by  a  majority  of  three  hundred  and  ninety-five 
against  two  hundred  and  eighty-three,  had  voted  a 
loan  intended  for  the  Roman  expedition.  Com- 
manded by  General  Oudinot,  this  expedition  landed 
at  Civita  Vecchia,  April  25.  Having  rashly  ad- 
vanced to  the  walls  of  Rome,  it  was  defeated  there, 
April  30.  Louis  Napoleon  wrote  to  General  Oudinot, 
May  8 :  "  I  hoped  that  the  inhabitants  of  Rome,  open- 
ing their  eyes  to  evidence,  would  cordially  receive  an 
army  which  came  to  accomplish  a  disinterested  and 


THE  ELY  SEE  341 


benevolent  mission  amongst  them.  It  has  been  other- 
wise ;  our  soldiers  have  been  received  as  enemies ; 
our  military  honor  is  involved,  and  I  will  not  allow  it 
to  be  injured;  reinforcements  shall  not  be  lacking 
to  you.  Tell  your  soldiers  that  I  appreciate  their 
bravery,  that  I  share  their  grief,  and  that  they  may 
always  rely  on  my  support  and  my  gratitude." 

At  bottom,  Louis  Napoleon  was  struggling  be- 
tween his  youthful  souvenirs,  which  favored  Italian 
liberalism,  and  the  governmental  interest,  which 
urged  him  to  conciliate  the  clergy  and  the  con- 
servative party  in  France.  He  would  gladly  have 
avoided  irritating  either  the  republicans  of  Rome 
or  the  Papacy.  But  that  was  impossible.  A  con- 
ciliatory mission  was  confided  to  M.  Ferdinand  de 
Lesseps,  but  it  was  a  failure ;  and  the  negotiator, 
who  was  accused  of  having  inclined  too  much  to 
the  side  of  the  Roman  republic,  was  disavowed. 
Confronted  by  the  disposition  manifested  in  Paris 
by  the  majority  of  the  National  Assembly,  Louis 
Napoleon,  had  he  wished  to  do  so,  could  not  have 
declared  against  the  Pope's  cause.  Hence  the  expe- 
dition was  continued  with  extreme  energy.  Hence, 
also,  arose  an  exasperation  among  the  Mountain 
party  which  brought  about  the  insurrection  of 
June  13,  the  very  day  on  which  the  breaching 
batteries  of  the  French  army  opened  fire  on  the 
ramparts  of  Rome.  Numerous  groups  assembled  in 
the  boulevard  region,  which  extends  from  the  Porte 
Saint  Martin  to  the  Place  de  la  Bastille.     A  column 


342  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

of  from  fifteen  to  twenty  thousand  men  came  down 
the  boulevards,  growing  larger  as  it  came.  General 
Changarnien  waited  until  the  head  of  this  column 
reached  the  church  of  the  Madeleine.  Then,  de- 
bouching by  the  rue  de  la  Paix  with  a  strong  divi- 
sion, he  cut  this  manifestation  in  two.  The  leaders 
had  designated  the  Conservatory  of  Arts  and  Trades, 
in  the  rue  Saint  Martin,  as  the  headquarters  of  the 
insurrection.  It  was  there  that  M.  Ledru-Rollin 
and  one  hundred  and  nineteen  other  representative 
Mountain  deputies  had  signed  this  proclamation : 
"  To  the  French  People,  the  National  Guard,  and 
the  Army.  The  Constitution  is  violated ;  the  people 
are  rising  to  defend  it.  The  Mountain  is  at  its 
post."  However,  the  people  remained  indifferent. 
The  troops,  after  removing  some  barricades  with 
ease,  entered  the  Conservatory.  Then  ensued  a  gen- 
eral sauve  qui  peut  among  the  Mountain  deputies. 
They  fled  through  every  outlet,  even  the  windows. 
The  disturbance  had  been  quelled,  one  might  say, 
without  a  combat.  As  soon  as  the  boulevards  were 
cleared,  Louis  Napoleon,  on  horseback,  attended  by 
several  generals  and  an  escort  of  lancers,  rode  all 
along  the  line  of  the  boulevards  and  through  the 
Faubourg  Saint-Antoine,  coming  back  to  the  Elysde 
by  the  rue  de  Rivoli.  He  was  everywhere  greeted 
with  applause.  According  to  what  has  been  related 
by  M.  Odilon  Barrot,  he  replied,  half  seriously,  half 
laughingly,  to  General  Changarnier,  who  was  compli- 
menting him  on  the  day :  "  Yes,  General,  the  day  has 


THE  ELYSEE  343 


been  good,  very  good.     But  you  hurried  me  past  the 
Tuileries." 

The  president  of  the  Republic  profited  by  the  fine 
weather  to  make  official  excursions  to  several  cities 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Paris.  The  inauguration  of 
railways,  and  distributions  of  flags  to  the  National 
Guard,  served  as  pretexts  for  these  excursions,  on 
which  he  was  always  received  as  a  sovereign.  At 
Chartres  he  remembered  that  Saint  Bernard  had 
preached  the  second  crusade  in  that  city,  and  Henri 
IV.  been  crowned  there,  and  evoking  both  memo- 
ries, he  drank  a  toast  to  religion  and  concord.  At 
Amiens  he  spoke  of  the  treaty  of  1802.  At  Ham, 
July  22,  he  went  to  the  fortress,  and  visited  every 
part  of  his  former  prison,  then  occupied  by  the 
Algerian  chieftain  Bon-Maza,  whom  he  pardoned. 
The  town  offered  him  a  banquet.  "Believe  me," 
said  he,  "if  I  have  come  to  Ham,  it  is  not  through 
pride,  but  through  gratitude.  I  had  it  at  heart  to 
thank  the  inhabitants  of  this  town  and  its  environs 
for  all  the  marks  of  sympathy  they  constantly 
gave  me  during  my  misfortunes.  To-day  when, 
elected  by  all  France,  I  have  become  the  head  of 
this  great  nation,  I  cannot  glorify  myself  on  account 
of  a  captivity  caused  by  an  attack  on  a  regular  gov- 
ernment. When  one  has  seen  how  many  woes  fol- 
low in  the  train  of  the  most  righteous  revolutions, 
one  scarcely  comprehends  the  audacity  of  having 
been  willing  to  assume  the  terrible  responsibility  of 
a  change.      I  do  not  complain  therefore  of  having 


344  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

expiated  here  by  six  years  of  imprisonment  my 
temerity  against  ,the  laws  of  my  country,  and  it  is 
with  happiness  that,  in  the  very  places  where  I  suf- 
fered, I  propose  a  toast  in  honor  of  the  men  who 
determined,  in  spite  of  their  convictions,  to  respect 
the  institutions  of  their  country." 

Some  days  later,  Louis  Napoleon  affirmed  his  per- 
sonal ideas  in  a  letter  which  had  a  wide  publicity. 
The  French  army  entered  Rome  July  3,  1849,  and 
the  temporal  power  of  the  Pope  was  re-established 
there.  Pius  IX.  remained  at  Gaeta,  and  did  not 
return  to  his  capital  until  the  12th  of  the  following 
April,  but  he  sent  three  cardinals  thither  who,  ar- 
riving July  31,  governed  in  his  name  and  inaugu- 
rated a  period  of  reaction.  It  was  then  that  Louis 
Napoleon  wrote  to  his  orderly  officer,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Edgard  Ney,  who  accompanied  the  Roman 
expedition,  a  celebrated  letter  dated  August  18. 
The  Moniteur  reproduced  it  in  its  non-official  col- 
umns, September  7 :  "  My  dear  Ney,"  said  the  Presi- 
dent, "  the  French  Republic  did  not  send  an  army  to 
Rome  to  stifle  Italian  liberty  there,  but  on  the  con- 
trary to  regulate  it  by  preserving  it  against  its  own 
excesses,  and  to  give  it  a  solid  foundation  by  replac- 
ing on  the  pontifical  throne  the  Prince  who  was  the 
first  to  place  himself  boldly  at  the  head  of  all  useful 
reforms.  I  learn  with  pain  that  the  benevolent  in- 
tentions of  the  Holy  Father,  like  our  own  action, 
remain  sterile  in  presence  of  hostile  passions  and 
influences.     They  would   like  to  make   proscription 


TEE  ELY  SEE  345 


and  tyranny  the  bases  of  the  Pope's  return.  Say  for 
me  to  General  Rostolan  that  he  must  not  permit  any 
act  to  be  committed  under  the  shadow  of  the  tri- 
colored  flag  which  can  distort  from  its  true  meaning 
the  real  character  of  our  intervention.  I  sum  up 
thus  the  re-establishment  of  the  temporal  power  of 
the  Pope :  General  amnesty,  Secularization  of  the 
administration,  the  Code  Napoleon  and  liberal  Gov- 
ernment. I  have  felt  personally  offended,  in  read- 
ing the  proclamation  of  the  three  cardinals,  to  find 
that  the  name  of  France  was  not  even  mentioned, 
nor  the  sufferings  of  our  brave  soldiers.  Any  insult 
offered  to  our  flag  or  our  uniform  goes  straight  to 
my  heart,  and  I  beg  you  to  make  it  plainly  under- 
stood that  if  France  does  not  sell  her  services,  she 
at  least  exacts  gratitude  for  her  sacrifices  and  her 
abnegation.  When  our  armies  made  the  tour  of 
Europe,  they  left  everywhere,  as  traces  of  their  pas- 
sage, the  destruction  of  feudal  abuses  and  the  germs 
of  liberty;  it  shall  not  be  said  that  in  1849  a  French 
array  could  have  acted  in  another  sense  and  to  bring 
about  other  results."  The  President  had  not  com- 
municated this  letter,  in  which  his  ideas  of  1831 
reappeared,  to  any  of  his  ministers. 

As  to  domestic  politics,  the  accord  between  Louis 
Napoleon  and  his  ministry  was  merely  apparent. 
The  president  of  the  Council,  M.  Odilon  Barrot, 
has  written  in  his  Memoirs :  "  I  felt  that  there  was 
an  abyss  between  Louis  Napoleon's  ideas  and  my 
own.     Gentle,  easy,  full  of  distinction  and  good  will 


346  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

in  his  habitual  relations,  talking  little,  and  knowing 
how  to  listen  a  great  deal,  wherein  he  differed  widely 
from  Louis  Philippe,  it  sometimes  happened  that  he 
betrayed  his  opinion  by  sudden  sallies ;  but,  at  the 
slightest  opposition,  he  withdrew  it  into  his  secret 
soul,  and  seemed  to  yield  to  the  arguments  of  his 
advisers,  while  in  reality  he  merely  postponed  and 
waited.  It  was  not  difficult  for  me  to  divine  this 
character,  at  once  enterprising  and  reserved,  and 
to  foresee  that  although  we  might  pass  through 
critical  times  together  and  in  unison,  yet  this  accord 
would  cease  as  soon  as  danger  no  longer  diverted 
attention  from  the  profound  contradiction  between 
our  sentiments  and  opinions."  M.  Alexis  He  Tocque- 
ville,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  at  that  time,  has 
written :  "  We  wanted  to  make  the  Republic  live ; 
he  wanted  to  be  its  heir.  We  merely  supplied  him 
with  ministers,  while  he  needed  accomplices." 

The  situation  of  the  Cabinet  was  difficult.  The 
republicans  accused  it  of  being  clerical,  and  the 
majority  of  the  Assembly  thought  it  too  republican. 
MM.  Thiers  and  Mole*,  who  went  often  to  the  Elyse'e, 
constituted,  with  the  other  heads  of  the  conservative 
party,  a  sort  of  occult  ministry  which  wounded  the 
susceptibilities  of  the  Cabinet.  The  Right,  wishing 
to  regain  possession  of  all  the  places  for  its  tools, 
displayed  irritation  because  the  Minister  of  the 
Interior,  M.  Dufaure,  who  had  occupied  the  same 
position  under  General  Cavaignac's  government,  had 
refused  to  dismiss  republican  officials.     Dividing  to 


THE  ELY  SEE  347 


reign,  Louis  Napoleon  sought  to  turn  the  quarrels 
between  the  Right  and  the  Left  to  his  own  advantage. 
He  made  them  an  occasion  for  dismissing  his  Cabinet, 
although  it  had  not  ceased  to  possess  a  majority  in 
the  Chamber.  Even  while  parting  with  M.  Odilon 
Barrot  in  this  way,  he  signed  a  series  of  decrees 
which  appointed  him,  on  the  same  day,  chevalier, 
officer,  commander,  grand  officer,  and  grand  cross  of 
the  Legion  of  Honor.  M.  Barrot  refused  this  dis- 
tinction, and  clearly  comprehended  that  the  advent 
of  personal  power  was  approaching.  "  A  day  came," 
he  has  written  in  his  Memoirs,  "when  M.  Thiers 
cried  out  dolefully :  '  The  Empire  is  ripe  ! '  It  was 
on  the  28th  of  October,  1849,  that  he  should  have 
uttered  that  cry;  that  is,  when  a  ministry  truly 
parliamentary,  and  in  full  possession  of  the  majority, 
was  replaced  by  ministers  who  were  mere  under- 
clerks;  it  was  on  that  day,  assuredly,  that  the  first 
foundations  of  the  imperial  throne  were  built  up 
anew." 

Louis  Napoleon  had  the  art  of  advancing  and 
recoiling  according  to  circumstances.  Haughty  as 
had  been  his  message  of  October  31,  which  contained 
such  phrases  as  these :  "  France,  unquiet  because  it 
has  no  direction,  seeks  the  hand,  the  will  of  the 
man  elected  on  December  10 ;  .  .  .  the  mere  name 
of  Napoleon  stands  to  it  for  a  programme ;  it  means 
order,  authority,  religion,  the  welfare  of  the  people 
in  the  interior,  and  on  the  exterior,  national  dignity," 
—  the  attitude  of  the  new  ministry  in  face  of  the 


348  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Assembly  was  different.  The  "  Burgraves  "  triumphed. 
The  law  granting  liberty  of  instruction,  so  much 
desired  by  the  Catholic  party,  was  passed,  March  15, 
1850,  by  399  votes  against  137.  "  The  expedition  to 
Rome  is  necessary  in  the  interior,"  said  M.  de 
Montalembert.  On  the  31st  of  the  following  May, 
by  433  votes  against  241,  the  Assembly  adopted  the 
law  mutilating  universal  suffrage  under  pretext  of 
purifying  and  moralizing  it.  This  law  struck  not 
merely  vagabonds  and  vagrants,  those  whom,  during 
the  discussion,  M.  Thiers  described  «s  a  "  vile  multi- 
tude," but  many  poor  but  honest  citizens  as  well. 
More  than  three  millions  of  citizens  found  themselves 
stricken  from  the  electoral  lists.  Louis  Napoleon 
counted  on  making  the  Assembly  bear  the  recoil  of 
this  unpopular  measure.  As  M.  Odilon  Barrot  has 
said,  "  The  conservative  party  was  unable  to  see  that 
it  was  wantonly  forging  the  weapon  with  which  it 
was  to  be  assailed." 

At  the  same  time,  the  President  sought  every 
occasion  of  entering  into  direct  personal  relations 
with  the  provincial  populations.  He  was  welcomed 
by  the  ringing  of  bells  and  by  salvos  of  artillery. 
He  said,  at  the  banquet  of  Soissons,  June  9,  1850 : 
"If  I  were  always  free  to  do  as  I  please,  I  would 
come  among  you  without  pomp  or  ceremony.  I 
would  like  to  participate,  unknown,  in  your  labor 
as  well  as  in  your  festivals,  so  as  to  judge  better  for 
myself  of  your  wishes  and  your  sentiments.  But  it 
appears  that  fate  always  puts  a  barrier  between  you 


THE  ELY  SEE  349 


and  me,  and  it  is  my  regret  never  to  have  been  able 
to  be  a  private  citizen  of  my  country.  As  you  know, 
I  spent  six  years  not  many  leagues  from  this  city, 
but  walls  and  moats  divided  us."  At  Dijon  he  said, 
August  13 :  "  When  I  see  my  name  still  retaining 
influence  over  the  masses,  an  influence  due  to  the 
glorious  head  of  my  family,  I  congratulate  myself 
upon  it,  not  for  me,  but  for  you,  for  France,  and  for 
Europe."  At  Lyons,  August  15,  he  disavowed  in 
this  way  the  schemes  attributed  to  him:  "Rumors 
of  a  coup  d'Etat  have  perhaps  reached  you ;  but  you 
have  put  no  faith  in  them,  and  I  thank  you  for  it. 
Surprises  and  usurpations  may  be  the  dream  of  parties 
lacking  support  in  the  nation ;  but  he  who  is  elected 
by  six  millions  of  votes  executes  the  will  of  the 
people ;  he  does  not  betray  it."  Nevertheless,  at 
Strasburg,  Nancy,  Metz,  Rheims,  Caen,  Cherbourg,  he 
appeared  surrounded  by  all  the  pomp  of  sovereignty. 
The  Assembly,  which  adjourned  from  August  11 
to  November  11,  had  instituted  a  permanent  com- 
mittee of  twenty-five  members,  all  of  whom  were 
opposed  to  projects  of  imperial  restoration.  The 
two  powers  were  observing  each  other  with  mutual 
distrust.  October  30,  1850,  Louis  Napoleon  was 
holding  a  grand  review  on  the  plateau  of  Satory, 
near  Versailles,  when  several  regiments  of  cavalry 
shouted :  "  Long  live  the  Emperor !  "  The  com- 
mittee demanded  explanations.  General  Changar- 
nier  addressed  the  following  order  of  the  day  to 
the  troops :    "  By  the  terms  of  the  law,  the  army 


350  L0UI8  NAPOLEON 

does  not  deliberate ;  by  the  terras  of  the  military 
regulations,  it  must  abstain  from  all  demonstration, 
and  utter  no  cry  when  under  arms.  The  general- 
in-chief  reminds  the  troops  under  his  command  of 
these  stipulations."  From  this  moment  there  was 
a  ruthless  struggle  between  it  and  the  President, 
but  as  yet  a  silent  one.  Louis  Napoleon  did  not 
think  the  hour  had  come  for  'throwing  off  the 
mask.  November  12,  he  addressed  a  message  to 
the  Assembly  which  concluded  thus  :  "  What  espe- 
cially preoccupies  me  is  not  to  know  who  will  govern 
France  in  1852,  but  to  so  employ  the  time  at  my 
disposal  that  the  transition,  whatever  it  may  be, 
shall  take  place  without  agitation  and  disturbance. 
The  aim  most  worthy  of  a  lofty  soul  is  not  to  seek, 
when  in  power,  for  expedients  by  which  it  may  be 
perpetuated,  but  to  watch  incessantly  for  means  of 
consolidating,  to  the  advantage  of  all,  the  principles 
of  authority  and  morality  which  defy  the  passions 
of  men  and  the  instability  of  laws.  I  have  loyally 
opened  my  heart  to  you,  you  will  respond  to  my 
frankness  by  your  confidence,  to  my  good  inten- 
tions by  your  concurrence,  and  God  will  do  the 
rest."  Louis  Napoleon,  having  lulled  the  vigilance 
of  the  Assembly  in  this  way,  waited  until  January 
9,  1851,  to  rid  himself  of  the  chief  obstacle  to  his 
projects,  General  Changarnier.  The  latter  had  not 
merely  become  the  general  of  the  Parliament,  but 
the  legitimists  and  Orleanists  regarded  him  as  a 
future  Monk.     The  president  of  the  Republic,  from 


THE  ELY  SEE  351 


whom  he  held  command  of  the  1st  Military  Division, 
and  also  of  the  National  Guards  of  the  Seine,  took 
them  from  him.  From  that  day  a  conflict  began 
between  Louis  Napoleon  and  the  Assembly  which 
was  to  end  only  by  a  coup  oVJStat. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

THE   PRELIMINARIES   OF   THE   COUP  D'ETAT 

r  I  ^O  revenge  itself  for  the  dismissal  of  General 
Changarnier,  the  Assembly  declared,  January  18, 
1851,  that  the  ministry  did  not  possess  its  confidence. 
Louis  Napoleon  changed  his  ministers,  but  not  his 
policy.  Disembarrassed  of  the  man  who  had  been 
the  chief  obstacle  in  the  way  of  his  projects,  he  pur- 
sued his  object  calmly  and  patiently,  seeking  to  con- 
ciliate the  clergy,  the  army,  and  the  masses  of  the 
people.  On  Good  Friday,  which  in  1851  fell  on 
April  18,  the  procession  of  relics  at  Notre  Dame  was 
preceded  by  a  discourse  from  Pere  Ravignan.  The 
Prince-President  —  as  people  were  beginning  to  style 
the  chief  executive — seated  himself  in  the  church- 
warden's pew,  as  did  Marshal  Exelmans.  May  23, 
he  reviewed  the  army  of  Paris  on  the  Champ-de- 
Mars.  June  1,  at  the  inauguration  of  the  Dijon  rail- 
way, he  made  a  speech  at  the  banquet  offered  him  by 
that  city,  in  which  Parliament  saw  a  menace.  "  For 
three  years,"  said  the  Prince,  "  it  has  been  remarked 
that  I  have  always  been  seconded  by  the  Assembly 
when  there  was  a  question  of  combating  disorder  by 
repression.     But  when  I  have  wished  to  do  good,  to 

352 


PRELIMINARIES  OF  THE  COUP  D'ETAT     353 


ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  people,  it  has  refused 
me  this  concurrence.  If  France  recognizes  that  no 
one  has  the  right  to  dispose  of  her  without  her  con- 
sent, France  has  but  to  say  so :  my  courage  and  my 
energy  will  never  fail  her.  .  .  .  Whatever  the  duties 
my  country  may  lay  upon  me,  it  will  find  me  deter- 
mined to  obey  its  wishes.  And,  be  very  sure,  gen- 
tlemen, France  will  not  perish  in  my  hands." 

General  Changarnier,  thinking  he  ought  to  reply 
indirectly  to  the  Dijon  speech,  delivered  from  the 
tribune,  June  3,  a  short  and  important  harangue, 
which  ended  thus :  "  The  army  does  not  desire  more 
than  you  to  see  any  one  inflict  on  France  the  mis- 
eries and  shames  of  a  government  of  Caesars,  alter- 
nately imposed  and  reversed  by  debauched  plebeians. 
...  No  one  will  oblige  our  soldiers  to  march  against 
this  Assembly.  Into  that  fatal  path  they  will  not 
drag  one  battalion,  one  company,  one  squad,  and  they 
will  find  in  front  of  them  the  leaders  whom  our  sol- 
diers are  accustomed  to  follow  on  the  road  of  duty 
and  of  honor.  Mandataries  of  France,  deliberate  in 
peace." 

Meanwhile  Louis  Napoleon  continued  his  tri- 
umphal excursions  in  the  provinces.  July  1,  he 
inaugurated  the  section  of  the  railway  between 
Tours  and  Poitiers,  and  on  the  6th,  at  Beauvais, 
the  statue  of  Jeanne  Hachette.  On  that  day  the 
bishop  said  to  him :  "  Whatever  may  be  the  future 
now  hidden  from  us  by  heavy  clouds,  the  Church 
will  gladly  repeat  that  under  your  government  the 
2a 


354  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

august  chief  of  Catholicity  returned  to  the  capital 
of  the  Christian  world,  and  that  education  has  been 
partially  delivered  from  the  shackles  which  impeded 
the  development  so  necessary  to  religious  principles." 
At  the  banquet  offered  him  by  the  city,  Louis  Napo- 
leon delivered  an  address  on  providential  missions, 
which  was  stamped  with  a  sort  of  mysticism:  "It 
is  encouraging,"  said  he,  "  to  think  that,  in  extreme 
dangers,  Providence  often  reserves  to  one  alone  to 
be  the  instrument  of  the  salvation  of  all,  and,  in  cer- 
tain circumstances,  it  has  often  chosen  this  one  from 
amongst  the  weaker  sex,  as  if  by  the  fragility  of  the 
envelope  it  wished  to  prove  more  fully  the  empire  of 
the  soul  over  human  things,  and  to  make  it  evident 
that  a  cause  does  not  perish  when  it  has  an  ardent 
faith,  an  inspired  devotion,  a  profound  conviction  to 
guide  it.  Thus,  in  the  fifteenth  century,  at  an  inter- 
val of  only  a  few  years,  two  women,  obscure  but  ani- 
mated by  the  sacred  fire,  Jeanne  d'Arc  and  Jeanne 
Hachette,  appeared  at  the  most  hopeless  moment  to 
fulfil  a  sacred  mission." 

It  was  only  because  he  too  wished  to  pose  as  a 
saviour  that  Louis  Napoleon  evoked  such  souvenirs 
as  these.  A  rumor  had  been  put  in  circulation  to 
the  effect  that  during  the  year  1852  society  would 
be  exposed  to  the  most  serious  perils.  In  the  month 
of  May,  within  a  few  days  of  each  other,  the  powers 
of  the  president  of  the  Republic  and  those  of  the 
Assembly  were  to  expire ;  the  prophets  of  misfortune 
were  announcing  the  most  terrible  catastrophes  for 


PRELIMINARIES  OF  THE  COUP  D'ETAT      355 


that  date.  The  great  art  of  Louis  Bonaparte's  par- 
tisans was  to  maintain  and  profit  by  the  terrors  which 
had  laid  hold  of  the  middle  and  lower  classes. 

Article  45  of  the  Constitution  declared  the  presi- 
dent of  the  Republic  ineligible,  and  fixed  on  the  sec- 
ond Sunday  of  May  for  the  election  of  his  successor. 
The  new  Assembly  was  to  be  chosen  April  29,  1852, 
and  the  old  one  to  sit  until  May  28.     In  a  report 
read  from  the  tribune,  July  8,  1851,  M.  de  Tocque- 
ville  expressed  himself  as  follows  on  the  danger  of 
such  a  situation :     "  Thus,  in  the  same  month,  and 
only  a   few  days  apart,  the   executive   power   and 
the   legislative   power   will   change   hands.     Never, 
assuredly,  has  a  great  people,  as  yet  ill-accustomed 
to  the  use  of  republican  liberty,  been  thrown  sud- 
denly by  law  into  so  hazardous  a  position,  never  has 
a  nascent  Constitution  been  subjected  to  so  rude  a 
trial.  .  .  .     The  existing  status  quo  must  necessarily 
result  either  in   usurpation   or  in  anarchy,  in  any 
case,  in  the  ruin  of  the  Republic  and  perhaps  of 
liberty." 

Consequently,  M.  de  Tocqueville  and  the  com- 
mittee whose  report  he  drew  up  proposed  a  revision 
of  the  Constitution.  In  August,  1850,  out  of  eighty- 
five  councils-general,  fifty-two  had  passed  a  resolu- 
tion to  this  effect.  By  July  1,  1851,  the  number 
of  petitioners  expressing  the  same  desire  had  risen 
to  1,123,000.  There  was  evidently  a  majority  in  the 
Assembly  in  favor  of  the  revision,  but  it  was  not  a 
majority   of  three-fourths.      Now,   according  to  its 


356  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

article  111,  the  Constitution  could  not  be  revised 
unless  the  revision  were  demanded  by  a  three-fourths 
majority  of  all  the  votes  cast. 

Louis  Napoleon  was  irrevocably  determined  to 
remain  in  power.  But  of  all  solutions  which  would 
have  permitted  him  to  attain  this  end,  that  which  he 
would  certainly  have  preferred  would  have  been  a 
legal  re-election  following  a  revision  of  the  Consti- 
tution. The  deliberations  of  the  Assembly  on  the 
project  of  revision  began  July  14,  1851,  and  did  not 
close  until  the  19th.  After  magnificent  but  fruitless 
oratorical  tournaments  and  a  series  of  discourses, 
each  more  eloquent  than  the  others,  on  the  respec- 
tive merits  of  the  Republic  and  the  Monarchy,  the 
revision  had  446  votes  against  278.  A  three-fourths 
majority  would  have  been  543,  and  97  were  lacking 
to  the  legal  figure.  From  that  moment  Louis  Napo- 
leon made  ready  for  the  coup  oVEtat. 

After  nominating  a  permanent  committee,  the 
Assembly  adjourned  from  August  9  to  November  4. 
During  this  interval  the  Prince-President  lost  no 
means  of  assuring  the  concurrence  of  the  army. 
General  de  Lamoricidre  had  said  at  the  house  of 
the  Due  de  Luynes:  "The  coup  (VEtat  will  not  be 
made  until  the  President  has  found  the  man  for 
it.  .  .  .  His  man  is  in  Algeria.  That  fellow  will 
stop  at  nothing.  When  you  see  Saint-Arnaud  Min- 
ister of  War,  say:  'Here  comes  the  coup  oVEtat?" 
The  prophecy  was  accomplished  in  every  particular. 
Louis  Napoleon  had  an  orderly  officer,  Commandant 


PRELIMINARIES  OF  THE  COUP  &ETAT      357 

Fleuiy,  in  whom  he  had  absolute  confidence.  Him 
he  sent  to  Algeria  to  drum  up  recruits  among  the 
generals  and  officers  who  would  take  part  in  the 
coup  d'Etat.  In  the  first  rank  was  General  de  Saint- 
Arnaud,  who  explicitly  promised  his  concurrence.  He 
was  only  a  brigadier-general  at  the  time,  but  in  July 
he  was  given  the  command  of  a  little  expedition  in 
Kabylia,  which  the  journals  devoted  to  the  Prince- 
President  exploited  in  the  most  pompous  style.  Ap- 
pointed a  general  of  division,  he  was  called  to  a 
command  in  Paris.  October  27  he  was  appointed 
Minister  of  War. 

A  noteworthy  circumstance  is  that  the  three  men 
who  were  to  be  Louis  Napoleon's  chief  collaborators 
in  the  accomplishment  of  the  coup  oVEtat,  General 
de  Saint- Arnaud,  Comte  de  Morny,  and  M.  de  Maupas, 
were  Bonapartists  of  very  recent  standing.  Jacques 
Leroy  de  Saint-Arnaud,  born  in  Paris  August  20, 
1798,  entered  the  bodyguards  in  1815.  Having 
resigned  from  service,  he  entered  it  again  after  the 
revolution  of  1830.  At  the  age  of  thirty-four  he  was 
still  a  second  lieutenant.  Throughout  the  reign  of 
Louis  Philippe  he  displayed  great  loyalty  to  the 
King  and  his  dynasty.  His  correspondence  with 
his  brother  during  that  period  has  been  published, 
and  it  contains  not  a  trace  of  Bonapartism.  He 
was  General  Bugeaud's  orderly  officer  when  the 
general  was  governor  of  the  fortress  of  Blaye,  dur- 
ing the  captivity  of  the  Duchesse  de  Berry,  and  by 
his  tact  and  intelligence  succeeded  in  obtaining  the 


358  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

friendly  regards  of  the  captive.  In  1836  he  went 
to  Algeria,  where  he  distinguished  himself.  The 
Due  d'Aumale  described  him  as  a  promising  officer, 
and,  in  1851,  wrote  to  congratulate  him  on  his  ap- 
pointment as  a  general  of  division. 

Comte  de  Morny,  for  whom  Louis  Napoleon  re- 
served the  post  of  Minister  of  the  Interior  for  the 
coup  oVMat,  was  the  reputed  son  of  Queen  Hortense 
and  General  de  Flahault.  But  that  did  not  prevent 
him  from  being  a  militant  Orleanist.  Born  in  Paris, 
October  23,  1811,  he  had  distinguished  himself  as  a 
cavalry  officer,  served  in  Algeria  under  the  eyes  of 
the  Due  d'Orle'ans,  who  displayed  much  good  will 
towards  him,  and  made  the  campaign  of  Mascara 
and  the  first  campaign  of  Constantine.  He  was 
decorated  for  having  saved  the  life  of  General  Tre"zel, 
whose  orderly  officer  he  was.  Resigning  from  the 
army  in  1838,  he  occupied  himself  with  industrial 
pursuits.  Becoming  in  1842  a  deputy  from  Puy-de- 
D<5me,  he  figured  as  one  of  M.  Guizot's  most  loyal 
partisans  until  the  end  of  the  July  monarchy.  A 
friend  of  the  princes  and  much  sought  after  in 
Orleanist  society,  as  a  man  of  pleasure  and  a  man  of 
business  he  was  equally  interested  in  the  salons,  the 
Bourse,  and  politics.  Up  to  the  revolution  of  Feb- 
ruary he  had  never  been  in  relations  with  Prince 
Louis,  and  they  met  in  London,  toward  the  close  of 
1848,  for  the  first  time.  It  was  only  after  the  death 
of  Queen  Hortense,  in  1837,  that  the  Prince  learned 
of  his  mother's  liaison  with  General  de  Flahault,  and 


PRELIMINARIES  OF  THE  COUP  &ETAT      359 

the  revelation  had  caused  him  profound  chagrin. 
As  to  General  de  Flahault,  he  was  one  of  King 
Louis  Philippe's  favorites,  and  was  representing  him 
as  ambassador  to  Vienna  when  the  revolution  of 
February  broke  out. 

After  the  downfall  of  the  dynasty  of  July,  M.  de 
Morny  is  said  to  have  had  some  slight  tendencies 
toward  the  legitimists.  The  journal  of  the  Princesse 
Melanie  de  Metternich  in  fact  contains  the  following 
passage,  dated  in  August,  1848:  "M.  de  Morny  came 
to  see  Cle'ment  (Prince  de  Metternich) ;  he  said  to 
him  that  he  no  longer  saw  more  than  one  chance 
of  saving  France:  Henri  V.  must  be  called  to 
the  throne.  He  wished  to  make  the  journey  to 
Frohsdorf  without  the  knowledge  of  his  friends." 
Returning  to  parliamentary  life  in  1849,  M.  de 
Morny  voted  with  the  monarchical  majority  in 
the  Assembly,  and  never  went  over  to  the  side  of 
the  Elyse'e  until  a  breach  had  occurred  between  the 
Right  and  the  Prince-President. 

As  to  M.  de  Maupas,  the  prefect  of  police  of  the 
coup  cTEtat,  he  had  never  been  esteemed  a  Bonapart- 
ist  under  the  regime  of  Louis  Philippe,  and  he  served 
the  King  loyally,  as  sub-prefect  of  Beaune,  until  the 
revolution  of  February. 

To  the  list  of  the  principal  coadjutors  in  the  work 
of  the  2d  of  December  let  us  add  General  Magnan, 
who  was  called,  July  15,  1851,  to  the  command-in- 
chief  of  the  army  of  Paris,  and  in  whom  Louis 
Napoleon  had  entire  confidence. 


360  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

The  hour  of  the  decisive  conflict  was  drawing 
near.  Facing  cleverly  about,  the  Prince-President, 
who  wished  to  conciliate  the  popular  masses,  pro- 
posed to  the  Assembly  the  abrogation  of  the  law  of 
May  31,  1850,  by  which  universal  suffrage  had  been 
restricted.  The  Left  approved  the  Prince.  One  of 
its  most  ardent  leaders,  M.  Michel  (of  Bourges), 
said  from  the  tribune:  "When  a  man  who  is  called 
the  chief  executive  takes  measures  which  in  my 
opinion  compromise  liberty  and  order,  I  oppose  him ; 
but  when  he  takes  such  as  assure  order  and  liberty, 
I  support  him,  and  glory  in  so  doing."  However,  on 
November  13,  1851,  the  Assembly,  by  351  votes 
against  347,  decreed  the  maintenance  of  the  law  of 
May  31.  This  was  to  put  one  of  his  best  cards 
into  the  Prince's  hand. 

A  frankly  republican  Assembly  would  have  ren- 
dered any  coup  d'Etat  impossible,  but  an  Assembly 
divided  against  itself,  and  composed  of  a  majority  of 
royalists  at  odds  with  each  other,  could  have  no 
power  of  resistance.  The  attempts  at  fusion  which 
we  have  described  in  detail  in  our  book,  The  JEJxiles, 
had  produced  no  result  but  that  of  increasing  the 
chances  of  the  Bonapartist  cause  by  accentuating 
the  antagonism  that  existed  between  the  elder  and 
the  younger  branches  of  the  Bourbons.  It  was  the 
legitimists,  with  M.  Berryer  at  their  head,  who, 
through  opposition  to  the  Orleanists,  had  combined 
with  the  republicans  to  prevent  the  National  As- 
sembly from  abrogating  the  law  which  exiled  both 


PBELIMIN ABIES   OF  THE  COUP  D'ETAT      361 

branches  of  the  Bourbons.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
royalists  of  the  Assembly  had  completely  roused  the 
suspicions  of  their  republican  colleagues,  who  had  a 
far  greater  repugnance  to  a  legitimist  restoration 
than  to  the  triumph  of  Bonapartism.  Louis  Napo- 
leon's chief  auxiliaries,  in  fact,  were  the  white  flag 
and  the  red  spectre. 

There  were  two  men  in  the  Assembly,  M.  Thiers 
and  General  Changarnier,  to  whom  the  republicans 
were  more  hostile  than  to  the  Prince-President  him- 
self. They  were  openly  accused  of  preparing  with 
their  friends  for  a  royalist  dictatorship,  and  at  all 
costs  it  was  desired  to  deprive  them  of  the  means 
of  executing  such  a  scheme.  This  is  why  nearly 
all  the  republicans  opposed  the  only  proposition 
which  might  have  averted  the  coup  d'Etat.  The 
three  questors  of  the  Assembly,  General  Lefl6, 
M.  Baze,  and  M.  de  Panat,  had  proposed  a  law 
on  November  6,  granting  to  the  president  of  the 
Assembly  the  right  to  call  on  the  army  and  all 
authorities  whose  concurrence  it  might  deem  neces- 
sary. The  Left,  with  the  exception  of  General 
Cavaignac,  Colonel  Charras,  and  several  other  depu- 
ties, were  adverse  to  this  proposition.  During  the 
discussion  which  took  place  November  17,  M.  Cr6- 
mieux  said :  "  The  Assembly  does  not  need  a  guard 
around  it.  Its  guard  is  the  people."  M.  Michel 
(of  Bourges)  expressed  himself  as  follows:  "The 
army  is  ours,  and  I  defy  you,  whatever  you  might 
do  should  the  military  power  fall  into  your  hands, 


362  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

to  make  a  single  soldier  come  here  for  you  against 
the  people.  No,  there  is  no  danger,  and  I  permit 
myself  to  add  that  if  there  were  danger,  there  is 
also  an  invisible  sentinel  that  guards  us.  I  need  not 
name  this  sentinel,  it  is  the  people."  Jules  Favre 
put  this  dilemma  to  the  Right :  "  Either  you  believe 
the  President  to  be  conspiring,  in  which  case  accuse 
him;  or  you  do  not  believe  it,  and  in  that  case  it 
is  you  who  are  conspiring  against  the  Republic." 
And  yet  there  was  a  moment  during  the  discussion 
when  it  seemed  as  if  the  proposition  of  the  questors 
would  be  voted.  "  The  Minister  of  War  thought  so 
too,"  writes  M.  Odilon  Barrot ;  "  for  he  made  haste  to 
leave  the  Assembly,  signalling  M.  Magnan,  who  was 
present  in  a  gallery  during  the  session,  to  follow  him. 
M.  de  Morny  left  also,  looking  pale  and  disconcerted ; 
they  went  to  the  Elyse"e  to  concert  the  measures  to 
be  taken  in  order  to  ward  off  in  advance  the  blow 
that  seemed  to  be  impending.  An  order  to  confine 
all  the  regiments  in  their  barracks  was  in  fact  given 
immediately."  Useless  precaution,  for,  thanks  to 
the  agreement  between  the  partisans  of  the  Prince 
and  the  members  of  the  Left,  the  proposition  of  the 
questors  was  rejected  by  408  votes  against  300.  On 
learning  this  news,  Louis  Napoleon,  who  was  ready 
to  mount  on  horseback,  contented  himself  by  saying : 
"Now,  gentlemen,  we  will  go  to  table." 

It  was  clear  to  all  men  of  discernment  that  the 
Assembly  had  just  signed  its  own  death  warrant. 
But  notwithstanding  so   many  alarming  symptoms, 


PRELIMINARIES  OF  THE  COUP  D'ETAT      363 

it  was  still  blind  to  the  fate  reserved  for  it.  The 
language  of  the  president  of  the  Republic  should 
have  opened  its  eyes.  On  November  9,  when  re- 
ceiving at  the  Elyse'e  six  hundred  officers  of  the 
regiments  of  Paris,  he  had  said  to  them :  "  If  ever 
the  day  of  danger  should  arrive,  I  would  not  act 
like  the  governments  that  have  preceded  me,  nor 
would  I  say  to  you :  '  March  on,  I  am  following 
you ' ;  but  I  would  say :  '  I  am  marching,  follow 
me.' "  November  25,  in  distributing  rewards  to 
the  French  exhibitors  of  London,  he  thus  expressed 
himself :  "  How  great  the  French  Republic  might 
be  if  it  were  permitted  to  attend  to  its  real  busi- 
ness and  reform  its  institutions,  instead  of  being 
incessantly  disturbed  by  demagogic  ideas  on  one 
side,  and  monarchical  hallucinations  on  the  other ! " 
He  ended  this  discourse  by  the  following  sentences, 
which  were  the  announcement  of  the  coup  oVEtat: 
"Do  not  dread  the  future.  Tranquillity  will  be 
maintained  whatever  happens.  A  government  which 
rests  upon  the  entire  mass  of  the  nation,  which 
has  no  motive  but  the  public  good,  and  which  is 
animated  by  that  ardent  faith  which  is  a  sure  guide 
across  a  space  where  no  road  is  traced,  this  govern- 
ment, I  say,  will  be  able  to  fulfil  its  mission;  for 
it  has  in  it  the  right  that  comes  from  the  people 
and  the  strength  that  comes  from  God." 

It  is  said,  however,  that  Louis  Napoleon  hesitated 
before  committing  an  act  of  violence  contrary  to 
the  mildness  of  his  character.     Impassible  when  in 


364  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

action,  he  was  by  nature  very  irresolute  before  act- 
ing. The  coup  cCEtat,  fixed  for  November  20,  was 
put  off  to  the  25th,  and  then  to  the  2d  of  Decem- 
ber. The  Prince  would  have  dallied  yet  longer 
before  crossing  the  Rubicon,  but  counsellors  more 
rash  than  he  were  urging  him  on,  and  he  allowed 
himself  to  be  beguiled  by  the  prophetic  date  of  a 
double  anniversary,  —  that  of  the  coronation  of  Na- 
poleon, and  of  the  battle  of  Austerlitz.  As  none  of 
his  ministers,  excepting  General  de  Saint-Arnaud, 
were  in  the  secret  of  what  was  going  on,  peo- 
ple in  official  spheres  were  in  perfectly  good  faith 
when  contradicting  the  rumors  of  a  coup  oVEtat. 
After  so  many  alarms  which  had  come  to  nothing, 
the  Assembly  began  to  be  reassured,  at  least  for 
December,  saying  to  each  other  that  the  Prince 
would  not  alienate  the  tradesmen  of  Paris  by  dis- 
turbing what  people  were  already  calling  the  con- 
fectioners' truce.  "We  have  at  least  a  month 
before  us,"  said  General  Changarnier.  On  Decem- 
ber 1  the  Assembly  debated,  with  absolute  tran- 
quillity, the  municipal-electoral  law  and  the  question 
of  the  railway  between  Lyons  and  Avignon.  It 
could  hardly  have  suspected  that  this  was  its  last 
session. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

THE  COUP  D'ETAT 

/~\N  Monday,  December  1,  1851,  there  is  a  soiree 
^^  at  the  Elyse'e.  Never  has  the  Prince-President 
shown  himself  calmer  or  more  affable.  His  counte- 
nance betrays  no  trace  of  any  emotion  whatever. 
The  same  evening,  the  Ope*ra  Comique  gives  the  first 
representation  of  the  Chdteau  de  Barbe-Bleue,  the 
music  of  which  is  by  Limnander,  and  the  words  by 
M.  de  Saint-Georges,  brother  of  the  director  of  the 
National  Printing-house.  M.  de  Morny  reaches  the 
theatre  at  the  same  time  as  General  de  Cavaignac 
and  General  de  Lamorici&re.  He  enters  the  box 
of  Madame  LiadiSrce.  "  They  say  there  is  to  be  a 
sweeping  out,"  says  this  lady  to  him.  "On  which 
side  shall  you  be  ?  "  "  On  the  handle  side,"  he  an- 
swers. Then  he  goes  to  the  Elyse'e.  The  guests  have 
just  departed.  A  conference  takes  place  between 
him,  the  Prince,  General  de  Saint-Arnaud,  and  M. 
Mocquard.  Colonel  de  BeVille  sets  off  in  a  cab  for 
the  National  Printing-house.  He  is  the  bearer  of  the 
decrees  and  proclamations  which  are  to  be  posted 
up  at  daybreak  the  next  morning.  A  company  of 
mobilized  gendarmes  is  at  the  printing-house  to  look 

365 


366  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

after  the  workmen.  The  doors  are  hermetically 
closed.  At  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  everything 
is  printed. 

Half  an  hour  later  the  police  commissioners  are 
summoned  to  the  prefecture  by  the  prefect,  M.  Mau- 
pas.  He  tells  them  that  a  plot  having  been  formed 
against  the  President,  they  are  to  arrest  sixteen  rep- 
resentatives, Generals  Bedeau,  Changarnier,  Lamo- 
riciere,  Cavaignac,  Lefl6,  Colonel  Charras,  M.  Thiers, 
M.  Roger  (du  Nord),  M.  Baze,  and  seven  members  of 
the  Mountain,  MM.  Cholat,  Valentin,  Greppo,  Nadaud, 
Miot,  Baune,  Lagrange.  At  half-past  six  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  the  sixteen  representatives  are  arrested 
at  their  domiciles  and  incarcerated  at  Mazas.  Not 
one  of  the  ministers,  with  the  exception  of  General 
de  Saint-Arnaud,  has  been  forewarned  of  the  coup 
d'Etat.  On  awakening,  the  Minister  of  the  Interior, 
M.  de  Thorigny,  is  greatly  surprised  to  see  the  sol- 
diers. He  sends  the  following  telegram  to  the  prefect 
of  police :  "  December  2,  seven  o'clock  a.m.  What 
has  happened?  The  court  of  the  ministry  is  full  of 
troops."  The  prefect  responds :  "  7.10  a.m.  M.  de 
Morny  is  charged  to  tell  you ;  you  will  see  him  in  an 
instant;  wait  for  him."  At  half-past  seven,  M.  de 
Morny  arrives  at  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior  and 
hands  M.  de  Thorigny  a  letter  from  the  President, 
announcing  to  him  that  he  has  been  replaced  as  Min- 
ister of  the  Interior  by  M.  de  Morny.  The  latter 
installs  himself  without  difficulty,  and  at  once  tele- 
graphs instructions  to  all  the  prefects. 


THE  COUP  D'ETAT  367 

The  Parisians  are  much  astonished  at  reading  on 
the  walls  the  decree  and  proclamations  of  the  Presi- 
dent. 

The  decree  dissolves  the  National  Assembly  and 
the  Council  of  State,  re-establishes  universal  suffrage 
by  abrogating  the  law  of  May  31,  convokes  the  peo- 
ple in  their  general  assemblies,  and  establishes  the 
state  of  siege  throughout  the  extent  of  the  first 
military  division.  The  proclamation  to  the  people 
proposes  to  submit  to  them  a  political  system  sum- 
marized as  follows  :  1.  A  responsible  head  elected 
for  ten  years;  2.  Ministers  depending  solely  upon 
the  executive  power;  3.  A  council  of  state  prepar- 
ing the  laws  and  supporting  them  in  debate ;  4.  A 
legislative  body  debating  and  passing  the  laws,  to  be 
elected  by  universal  suffrage,  without  balloting  for  a 
list ;  5.  A  second  assembly,  composed  of  all  the  illus- 
trious men  of  the  country,  as  a  balancing  power,  a 
guardian  of  the  fundamental  compact  and  the  public 
liberties.  "  For  the  first  time  since  1804,"  says  the 
President,  "you  will  vote  with  a  full  knowledge  of 
the  case,  and  thoroughly  understanding  for  whom 
and  for  what.  If  I  do  not  obtain  the  majority  of 
your  votes,  I  will  summon  a  new  Assembly  and  re- 
turn to  it  the  mandate  I  have  received  from  you. 
But  if  you  believe  that  the  cause  of  which  my  name 
is  the  symbol,  that  is,  France  regenerated  by  the 
Revolution  of  '89  and  organized  by  the  Emperor, 
is  still  your  cause,  proclaim  it  by  sanctioning  the 
powers  I  ask  of  you."     In  the  same  proclamation, 


368  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Louis  Napoleon  accuses  the  Assembly  of  being  a 
nest  of  intrigues,  and  of  wishing  to  overthrow  the 
Republic  which  he  claims  to  be  desirous  of  uphold- 
ing. "  Soldiers,"  he  says  in  his  proclamation  to  the 
army,  "  be  proud  of  your  mission,  you  will  save  the 
country,  for  I  rely  on  you  not  to  violate  the  laws, 
but  to  make  the  first  law  of  the  country  respected, 
the  national  sovereignty  of  which  I  am  the  legitimate 
representative.  ...  In  1830,  as  in  1848,  you  were 
vanquished.  After  having  stigmatized  your  heroic 
disinterestedness,  they  disdained  to  consult  your  in- 
clinations and  wishes,  and  yet  you  are  the  elite  of 
the  nation.  Now,  at  this  solemn  moment,  I  wish  the 
army  to  make  its  voice  heard.  Vote  freely  then  as 
citizens ;  but,  as  soldiers,  remember  that  passive  obe- 
dience to  the  orders  of  the  head  of  the  government 
is  the  rigorous  duty  of  the  army  from  the  general  to 
the  soldier." 

Since  morning  twenty-five  thousand  infantrymen 
of  the  line  and  six  thousand  cavalrymen,  with  a  large 
force  of  artillery,  have  been  occupying  the  Place  de 
la  Concorde,  all  the  approaches  of  the  Palais-Bourbon 
and  the  Elyse"e,  the  Carrousel  and  the  Place  de 
l'H6tel-de-Ville.  Some  hours  later  these  troops  are 
reinforced  by  a  regiment  of  dragoons  from  Saint- 
Germain  and  a  division  of  heavy  cavalry  from 
Versailles. 

Prince  Napoleon,  who  lives  in  rue  d' Alger,  in  the 
same  house  as  M.  Gavin,  goes  out  with  him  and,  on 
perceiving  the  troops,  displays  an  exasperation  which 


THE  COUP  D'ETAT  369 

M.  Gavin  has  great  difficulty  in  calming  down.  As 
to  King  J6r6me,  then  governor  of  the  Invalides,  he 
had  not  been  apprised  until  morning  of  what  was 
going  on.  But  at  the  first  news  of  it  that  he  receives 
he  dons  his  uniform,  mounts  a  horse,  and  goes  to 
rejoin  the  President  at  the  Elyse'e. 

At  ten  in  the  morning  Louis  Napoleon,  with  King 
Jdr6me  on  his  left,  and  followed  by  his  military 
household  and  a  very  large  staff  of  general  and  supe- 
rior officers,  leaves  the  Elyse'e  on  horseback  to  pre- 
sent himself  to  the  troops.  They  give  him  a  warm 
reception.  It  depends  on  himself  alone  to  take 
possession  of  the  chateau  of  the  Tuileries  at  once. 

As  to  the  National  Guard,  it  is  nowhere  to  be 
seen.  Its  commander-in-chief,  General  Marquis  de 
Lawoestines,  has  been  ordered  to  prevent  any  assem- 
bling of  the  legions.  To  preclude  the  possibility  of 
beating  the  roll-call,  the  drums  have  been  broken  or 
carried  off. 

What  will  the  National  Assembly  do  in  the  way 
of  organizing  a  resistance,  or,  at  least,  offering  a 
protest?  The  Palais-Bourbon,  where  its  sessions  are 
held,  is  occupied  by  the  92d  of  the  line,  commanded 
by  Colonel  Espinasse,  who  recently  made  the  Kaby- 
lia  campaign  with  General  de  Saint-Arnaud. 

The  authors  of  the  coup  d'Etat  fear  the  President 
of  the  Assembly,  M.  Dupin,  so  little  that  they  have 
not  thought  it  worth  while  to  arrest  him.  No  sen- 
tries are  placed  at  the  little  door  opening  on  the  rue 
de  Bourgogne.     A  certain  number  of  representatives 

2b 


370  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

enter  by  this  door  and  hold  the  simulacrum  of  a 
session.  A  chief  of  battalion  and  some  soldiers  sum- 
mon them  to  withdraw.  "  A  sort  of  tumult  ensued," 
writes  M.  Odilon  Barrot  in  his  Memoirs,  "which 
furnished  M.  Dupin  an  occasion  to  address  this 
opportune  reproach  to  his  colleagues:  'But,  gentle- 
men, you  yourselves  are  making  more  noise  than 
all  these  worthy  soldiers  put  together.'  Another 
remark  of  his  is  quoted  which  gives  a  still  better 
notion  of  him.  To  some  one  who  reproached  him 
for  having  yielded  so  easily,  he  replied  naively :  '  If 
I  had  had  a  man  at  my  orders,  I  would  have  caused 
him  to  be  killed.'  What  is  certain  is  that  after  thus 
exhausting  all  the  courage  he  had,  he  retired  into 
his  apartments  and  was  not  seen  again  all  day. 
Those  who  had  believed  in  the  force  of  abstract  right 
in  our  country  could  now  recognize  how  great  had 
been  their  error." 

Another  reunion  of  deputies  took  place  in  the  rue 
de  Lille,  at  the  house  of  Comte  Daru,  who  in  1870 
was  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  in  the  Ollivier  Cabi- 
net. This  also  was  forcibly  dispersed.  A  third, 
much  more  important,  was  held  at  the  mayoralty 
of  the  tenth  arrondissement.  The  house,  now  de- 
stroyed, was  situated  on  the  square  of  the  Croix 
Rouge,  near  the  entrance  of  the  rue  de  Grenelle. 
The  National  Guard  of  the  quarter  was  commanded 
by  General  de  Lauriston,  a  deputy  of  the  Right,  and 
favorable  to  the  Parliament.  It  was  eleven  o'clock 
in  the  morning  when  nearly  two  hundred  and  fifty 


THE  COUP  D'ETAT  371 

deputies,  nearly  all  belonging  to  the  Right,  arrived 
at  this  mayoralty  and  held  a  session  of  which  M. 
Berryer  was  the  ruling  spirit,  and  in  which  Louis 
Napoleon's  deposition  was  formally  decreed.  Gen- 
eral Oudinot  was  invested  by  it  with  the  command 
of  the  army,  and  took  for  his  chief  of  staff  a  deputy 
from  the  Mountain,  Captain  Tamisier.  But  some 
troops  under  the  orders  of  General  Forey  arrived 
with  orders  to  break  up  the  assembly,  allowing  those 
representatives  who  should  offer  no  resistance  to 
leave  the  mayoralty,  and  taking  all  others  to  Mazas. 
"  All  to  Mazas ! "  shouted  the  representatives  with- 
out exception.  There  were  not  carriages  enough 
to  convey  them.  It  was  determined  to  house  them 
provisionally  in  the  cavalry  barracks  of  the  quai 
d'Orsay.  The  column  began  its  march  at  three 
o'clock.  M.  de  la  Gorce  has  written  in  his  Histoire 
de  la  Seconde  RSpublique  Frangahe :  "  The  display 
was  not  less  singular  than  that  of  the  session  just 
ended.  The  representatives  advanced  between  two 
rows  of  foot-soldiers.  These  foot-soldiers,  now  agents 
of  Louis  Napoleon,  had  belonged  to  the  Vincennes 
chasseurs,  the  same  who  had  formerly  been  organized 
by  the  Orldans  princes.  The  troops  were  commanded 
by  General  Forey,  but  lately  Changarnier's  right-hand 
man,  now  a  proscript.  In  the  procession  deputies  of 
all  opinions  mingled,  adversaries  yesterday,  united 
to-day,  and  destined  to  separate  anew  to-morrow  ;  for 
several  of  them,  and  not  the  least  ardent,  were  to 
rally  to  the  Elyse'e  later  on."      The  representatives 


372  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

thus  arrested  spent  the  night  at  the  barracks  of  the 
quai  d'Orsay.  The  next  morning  some  were  trans- 
ferred to  Mazas,  others  to  Mont-Val6rien,  and  still 
others  to  Vincennes.  One  of  their  number,  M. 
Odilon  Barrot,  shall  tell  us  the  rest:  "When  we 
were  crossing  the  Faubourg  Saint- Antoine,"  he  writes, 
"  the  workmen  were  beginning  to  leave  their  houses 
to  go  to  their  workshops;  they  asked  each  other 
whom  these  well-escorted  carriages  might  contain. 
'  Ah ! '  said  they,  after  learning  who  we  were,  '  it  is 
the  twenty-five  francs  they  are  going  to  lock  up. 
That  is  well  played.'  This  was  all  the  interest 
displayed  in  the  appointees  of  universal  suffrage  by 
the  population  of  a  faubourg  so  famous  and  so 
dreaded  on  account  of  its  democratic  passions.  So 
vanished  successively,  and  one  by  one,  all  the  illu- 
sions cherished  by  either  conservatives  or  republicans. 
They  had  said :  He  will  not  dare,  and  he  had  dared. 
They  had  affirmed  that  not  one  soldier  would  march 
against  the  National  Assembly,  that  they  would 
rather  disobey  their  officers ;  and  the  soldiers  had 
marched  and  the  officers  had  been  perfectly  obeyed. 
They  had  affirmed  with  great  solemnity  that  the 
entire  people  would  rise  in  defence  of  the  Law  and 
Constitution,  and  the  people  had  nothing  but  sar- 
casms for  the  victims  of  both.  At  last  the  draw- 
bridges of  the  old  fortress  of  Vincennes  were 
lowered,  and  we  were  received  by  the  general,  who 
placed  at  our  disposal  the  apartments  occupied  by 
the   Due   de   Montpensier   at  the   time    when    that 


THE  COUP  D'ETAT  373 

prince  commanded  the  artillery  during  his  father's 
reign."  M.  Odilon  thus  relates  the  manner  in  which 
they  left  Vincennes  the  next  day.  "Some  one 
came,"  he  says,  "  to  tell  us  to  get  our  packets  ready. 
After  long  detours  we  reached  the  exterior  boule- 
vards, not  far  from  La  Salpetriele,  where  the  car- 
riages suddenly  stopped.  The  police  commissioners 
alighted,  saluted  us  respectfully,  and  announced 
that  we  were  at  lil>erty.  For  some  minutes  Ave  could 
hardly  credit  so  unexpected  a  denouement ;  then  each 
of  us  picked  up  his  bundle  and  looked  about  for  a 
vehicle." 

Generals  Cavaignac,  Bedeau,  de  Lamorici&re, 
Changarnier,  Lefl6\  Colonel  Charras,  M.  Baze,  and 
Comte  Roger  (du  Nord)  were  treated  more  severely. 
After  thirteen  hours  on  a  tiresome  road,  they  were 
shut  up  in  the  fortress  of  Ham.  General  Cavaignac 
had  the  chamber  occupied  by  Louis  Napoleon  during 
his  six  years'  captivity. 

To  sum  up,  the  reunion  at  the  mayoralty  of  the 
tenth  arrondissement  had  resulted  in  nothing  but  a 
protest.  It  had  been  almost  exclusively  composed 
of  members  of  the  Right,  and  they  had  not  the 
faculty  for  rousing  the  masses.  "  What  could  they 
have  done  with  the  people?"  says  Victor  Hugo. 
"Can  one  fancy  Falloux  a  tribune,  stirring  up  the 
Faubourg  Antoine?"  However,  the  leaders  of  the 
Left  were  not  yet  discouraged.  They  hoped  that  a 
real  insurrection  would  break  out  on  December  3. 
On  the  previous  day  the  masses  had  shown  more 


374  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

surprise  than  anger,  the  shops  had  remained  open, 
the  omnibuses  continued  running,  payments  were 
made  at  all  the  public  banks,  the  theatres  did  not 
close  their  doors.  About  half-past  eight  o'clock  on 
the  morning  of  the  3d,  a  dozen  representatives  and 
several  newspaper  men  arrived  in  the  Faubourg  Saint- 
Antoine,  shouting :  "  To  arms !  To  the  barricades  ! 
Long  live  the  Republic !  Long  live  the  Constitu- 
tion !  "  A  Mountain  deputy,  M.  Baudin,  offered  a 
musket  to  a  workman.  The  man  replied:  "Oftener 
than  not,  we  get  killed  for  your  twenty-five  francs." 
"  Very  well ! "  replied  the  intrepid  deputy,  "  you  are 
going  to  see  how  we  kill  for  twenty-five  francs." 
Then  he  mounted  a  barricade,  shouted,  "Long  live 
the  Republic ! "  and  fell,  riddled  with  balls.  His 
death  inflamed  men's  minds.  A  good  many  barri- 
cades were  erected,  and  a  battle  was  imminent. 

M.  de  Maupas  wished  to  have  it  on  the  3d  of 
December,  but  it  was  otherwise  determined.  General 
de  Saint-Arnaud  concluded  to  rest  the  troops  until 
noon  the  next  day.  Fifty  thousand  francs,  all  that 
was  left  of  Louis  Napoleon's  patrimony,  and  supple- 
mentary rations  of  food  and  wine  were  distributed 
amongst  them.  It  was  thought  better  to  end  matters 
by  one  hard  blow  than  to  exhaust  the  soldiers  by 
a  protracted  struggle  of  several  days.  This  pro- 
gramme was  strictly  followed.  The  insurgents  were 
allowed  to  develop  in  peace  for  fifteen  hours.  The 
troops  did  not  leave  their  barracks  until  half-past 
one  o'clock  on  the  4th  of  December,  and  the  attack 


THE  COUP  D'ETAT  375 

did  not  begin  until  two.  A  barricade  occupying  the 
whole  length  of  the  boulevard  between  the  Gymnase 
and  the  Porte  Saint-Denis  was  destroyed  by  the 
72d  of  the  line,  and  General  Canrobert's  brigade 
disposed  of  those  that  had  been  erected  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Porte  Saint-Martin.  On  the  boule- 
vard Montmartre,  as  far  up  as  the  Prophet e  shops 
and  the  house  of  M.  Sallandrouze,  shots  having 
been  fired  from  the  windows,  a  discharge  of  grape 
made  breaches  in  this  house  that  were  yawning 
for  several  days  thereafter.  At  the  Point  Saint- 
Eustache  and  in  the  rue  Rambateau  there  was 
desperate  fighting.  General  Courtage's  brigade, 
coming  from  Vincennes,  went  down  the  Faubourg 
Saint-Antoine  and  destroyed  all  the  barricades  they 
found.  For  nearly  three  hours  Paris  listened  to  an 
uninterrupted  roaring  of  cannon  and  volleying  dis- 
charges of  musketry.  The  insurrection  tried  to 
reach  the  rue  Saint-Honor^,  the  Place  Notre-Dame- 
des-Victoires,  the  region  of  the  Bourse  and  the 
Bank.  But  it  was  everywhere  thrown  back.  By 
five  o'clock  in  the  evening  all  was  over.  The  army 
had  25  killed  and  184  wounded.  As  to  the  civilians, 
the  different  figures  given  agree  so  badly  that  no 
exact  computation  can  be  arrived  at.  What  is  un- 
happily certain  is  that  the  majority  of  the  victims 
were  inoffensive  people,  mere  spectators.  On  the  5th 
of  December,  Paris  resumed  its  usual  appearance. 

Serious  disturbances  occurred  in  the  middle  and 
south  of  France.     One  after  another  came  the  insur- 


376  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 


rections  of  Nievre,  HeVault,  Dr6me,  the  troubles  of 
Allier,  the  Jura,  Lot-et-Garonne  and  Gers,  and  the 
taking  of  Var  and  the  Basses- Alpes  by  the  socialists. 
At  several  points,  common-law  crimes  were  com- 
mitted, which  the  reaction  did  not  fail  to  turn  to 
its  own  advantage.  The  repression  was  terrible. 
Thirty-two  departments  were  placed  in  a  state  of 
siege.  Mixed  commissions  decided  summarily  and 
arbitrarily  on  the  fate  of  thousands  of  republicans. 
Some  were  sent  to  Cayenne,  9530  transported  to 
Algeria,  1545  expelled,  and  2804  condemned  to  in- 
ternment. A  decree  momentarily  exiled  Generals 
Changarnier,  Lamorici&re,  Bedeau,  Lefld,  MM.  Thiers, 
Duvergier  de  Hauranne,  Baze,  Chambolle,  de  R£mu- 
sat,  Creton,  de  Lasteyrie.  General  Cavaignac  did 
not  leave  the  fortress  of  Ham  until  February,  in 
order  to  marry  Mademoiselle  Odier. 

Nothing  is  so  contagious  in  France  as  success. 
The  official  result  of  the  plebiscite  of  December 
20-21,  gave  7,439,216  ayes  to  646,737  nays.  If 
Louis  Napoleon  had  failed  he  would  have  been  called 
a  criminal  and  a  fool,  as  he  had  been  after  the  ill- 
contrived  enterprises  of  Strasburg  and  Boulogne. 
He  succeeded,  and  he  was  saluted  as  a  liberator. 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

THE  BEGINNING   OP   1862 

f  I  ^HE  Republic  no  longer  existed  save  in  name. 
Its  president  surrounded  himself  with  all  the 
pomp  of  sovereignty.  He  did  not  yet  sleep  at  the 
Tuileries,  because  the  ground  floor  was  undergoing 
repairs,  but  he  received  and  gave  fetes  in  the  large 
apartments  of  the  second  story.  The  functionaries 
came  there  to  pay  their  respects  on  New  Year's  day, 
1852.  There  was  a  Te  Deum  on  the  same  day,  at 
Notre  Dame,  which  the  Prince  attended,  escorted 
by  numerous  squadrons  of  cavalry.  On  the  7th  he 
was  present  at  a  full-dress  representation  at  the 
Ope*ra,  and  the  orchestra  played,  for  the  first  time, 
the  march  from  Le  Prophete. 

A  large  number  of  Orleanists  seemed  disposed  to 
rally  to  the  new  power.  But  the  decrees  of  January 
22,  which  unjustly  deprived  the  Orleans  family  of 
a  part  of  its  property,  caused  them  to  persist  in 
their  opposition.  Louis  Napoleon's  most  devoted 
servitors  blamed  a  measure  so  contrary  to  ideas  of 
conciliation ;  and  four  of  his  ministers  —  MM.  de 
Morny,  Fould,  Rouher,  and  Magne  —  handed  in 
their  resignations. 

377 


378  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

January  24,  the  decree  of  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment, by  which  titles  of  nobility  were  abolished,  was 
abrogated.  February  23,  there  was  a  grand  ball  at 
the  Tuileries.  Eight  thousand  persons  were  present. 
Three  hundred  major-domos,  in  the  uniform  prescribed 
by  the  ceremonial  of  the  former  imperial  household, 
were  noticed. 

March  29,  the  Prince  opened  the  session  of  the 
Senate  and  of  the  legislative  body  in  the  hall  of 
the  Marshals,  at  the  Tuileries.  After  congratulating 
himself,  in  his  discourse,  on  the  cessation  of  his 
dictatorship,  he  disavowed,  in  these  terras,  the  pro- 
jects for  a  monarchical  restoration :  "  On  seeing  me 
re-establish  the  institutions  and  souvenirs  of  the 
Empire,  it  has  been  often  repeated  that  I  would  like 
to  re-establish  the  Empire  itself.  If  such  were  my 
constant  preoccupation,  this  transformation  would 
have  been  accomplished  long  ago ;  for  neither  the 
means  nor  the  occasions  for  it  have  been  lack- 
ing. Thus,  in  1848,  when  six  millions  of  suffrages 
elected  me,  in  spite  of  the  Constituent  Assembly,  I 
was  not  unaware  that  a  mere  refusal  to  acquiesce 
in  the  Constitution  might  give  me  a  throne.  But 
an  elevation  which  might  entail  serious  disorders 
had  no  attraction  for  me.  On  January  13,  1849,  it 
would  have  been  just  as  easy  to  change  the  form  of 
government.  I  did  not  wish  to  do  so.  Finally,  on 
December  2,  if  personal  considerations  could  have 
outweighed  the  grave  interests  of  the  country,  I 
might  at  once  have  asked  a  pompous  title  from  the 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  1852  379 

people,  who  would  not  have  refused  it.  I  contented 
myself  with  the  one  I  have."  The  Prince  concluded 
thus :  "  Resolved,  to-day,  as  heretofore,  to  do  every- 
thing for  France,  nothing  for  myself,  I  would  not 
accept  modifications  of  the  present  state  of  things 
unless  compelled  to  do  so  by  evident  necessity. 
Whence  could  this  arise?  Solely  from  the  conduct 
of  the  parties.  If  they  resign  themselves,  nothing 
will  be  changed.  .  .  .  Do  not  let  us  preoccupy  our- 
selves with  difficulties  which  are  doubtless  improba- 
ble. Let  us  preserve  the  Republic;  it  menaces 
nobody,  it  can  reassure  all  the  world."    , 

Even  while  preserving  the  name  Republic,  Louis 
Napoleon  re-established  the  imperial  eagles.  He 
made  a  ceremonious  distribution  of  them  on  the 
Champ-de-Mars,  the  10th  of  May.  The  ceremony 
was  at  once  military  and  religious.  All  the  clergy, 
with  the  Archbishop  of  Paris  at  their  head,  were 
present.  The  Prince,  coming  from  the  Tuileries, 
arrived  by  the  Jena  bridge  a  little  before  noon, 
followed  by  a  platoon  of  Arab  chiefs.  After  passing 
the  troops  in  review,  he  dismounted  from  his  horse, 
and  ascended  an  immense  platform  resting  against 
the  Military  School.  "Soldiers,"  he  said,  "the  his- 
tory of  peoples  is  in  great  part  the  history  of  armies. 
On  their  success  or  their  reverses  depend  the  fate 
of  civilization  and  the  fatherland.  Vanquished,  it 
is  invasion  or  anarchy ;  victorious,  it  is  glory  or 
order.  .  .  .  The  Roman  eagle  adopted  by  the  Em- 
peror Napoleon  at  the  beginning  of  this  century  was 


380  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

the  most  striking  sign  of  the  regeneration  and  the 
glory  of  France.  It  disappeared  in  our  calamities. 
It  must  reappear  when  France,  risen  from  her  de- 
feats, mistress  of  herself,  seems  no  longer  to  repudiate 
her  own  glory.  Take  back  this  eagle  then,  soldiers, 
not  as  a  menace  against  foreigners,  but  as  the  symbol 
of  our  independence,  as  the  souvenir  of  an  heroic 
epoch,  as  the  signet  of  nobility  of  each  regiment. 
Take  back  these  eagles,  then,  which  have  so  often 
led  our  fathers  to  victory,  and  swear  to  die,  if  need 
be,  to  defend  them." 

After  delivering  this  address,  the  Prince  gave  a 
standard  to  each  colonel.  Surmounted  by  an  eagle, 
this  standard  bore  the  President's  monogram,  an  R 
and  an  F  (Re*publique  Franchise),  and  the  names 
of  the  principal  battles  in  which  each  regiment  had 
been  engaged.  The  religious  ceremony  was  after- 
wards celebrated.  Salvos  of  artillery  announced  the 
beginning  of  the  Mass,  which  was  said  by  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Paris.  At  the  Elevation,  a  cannon  was 
discharged,  the  drums  beat  a  salute,  the  trumpets 
sounded  a  march,  the  troops  presented  arms,  the 
flags  were  lowered.  After  Mass,  the  Archbishop  de- 
livered a  discourse  in  which  he  gave  Louis  Napoleon 
this  prudent  advice :  "  Prince,  pay  less  attention  to 
the  present  than  to  the  future.  You  may  talk  of 
peace  when  armies  so  valiant  are  at  your  command. 
Your  eagles  will  have  space  enough  for  their  lofty 
flight,  from  the  summits  of  the  Atlas  to  the  summits 
of  the  Alps  and  the  Pyrenees."     The  prelate  con- 


THE  BEGINNING   OF  185*  381 

eluded  his  harangue  in  this  wise :  "  God,  sovereign 
master  of  war  and  of  peace,  come  Thyself  to  bless 
these  standards ;  impress  them  with  striking  tokens 
of  Thy  power  and  sanctity.  .  .  .  May  they  enclose 
peace  and  war  within  their  glorious  folds  for  the 
security  of  the  good  and  the  terror  of  the  wicked ; 
and  may  France  breathe  freely  in  their  shadow,  and 
be,  for  the  welfare  of  the  world,  the  greatest  and 
happiest  of  nations ! "  Then  the  Archbishop  pro- 
ceeded to  the  benediction  of  the  standards.  After- 
wards the  Prince  mounted  his  horse  again,  and  the 
troops  began  to  file  off.  In  the  evening  all  the 
public  buildings  were  illuminated. 

Two  days  later,  May  12,  the  army  offered  the 
Prince-President  a  grand  ball  at  the  Military  School. 
Although  I  had  not  yet  finished  my  studies  I  was 
present  at  this  f§te,  which  I  recall  as  if  it  had  taken 
place  but  yesterday.  There  were  fifteen  thousand 
invited  guests.  A  palace  had  been  improvised  in 
the  court  of  honor  as  if  by  enchantment.  Stars  of 
steel,  broadsword  blades,  gun-barrels,  the  pommels 
of  pistols,  the  points  of  poniards,  appeared  in  the 
trophies.  A  parterre  of  women  and  flowers  glittered 
in  the  amphitheatre  on  benches  arranged  on  two 
sides  of  the  dancing-hall,  where  a  carpet  of  striped 
rubber  cloth  represented  an  immense  Oriental  stuff. 
On  the  walls  the  names  of  French  victories  shone 
in  letters  of  gold.  A  chime  of  bells,  placed  in  the 
orchestra,  rang  a  full  peal  on  the  entry  of  the  Presi- 
dent, and  drums  beat  and  trumpets  blared  together. 


382  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

At  the  back  of  the  hall  rose  a  vast  platform  orna- 
mented by  a  bust  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon,  a  bust 
of  his  nephew,  a  gigantic  cross  of  the  Legion  of 
Honor,  and  a  colossal  military  medal.  The  first 
quadrille  was  danced  by  the  Prince-President  with 
Madame  de  Saint-Arnaud,  wife  of  the  Minister  of 
War,  by  General  de  Saint-Arnaud  with  Lady  Doug- 
las, and  with  General  Magnan  with  the  Princesse 
Mathilde.  The  Prince  danced  a  second  time  with 
Madame  Sautereau,  General  Magnan's  daughter. 

June  28,  at  the  close  of  the  session,  Louis  Napo- 
leon sent  a  message  to  the  legislative  body,  in  which 
he  thus  expressed  himself :  "  Tell  your  constituents 
that  in  Paris,  this  heart  of  France,  this  revolutionary 
centre  which  sheds  light  or  conflagration  over  the 
world  by  turns,  you  have  seen  an  immense  popula- 
tion applying  themselves  to  the  removal  of  the  traces 
of  revolution,  and  devoting  themselves  joyfully  to 
labor,  secure  as  to  the  future.  .  .  .  You  have  seen 
this  haughty  army,  which  has  saved  the  country, 
rise  still  higher  in  the  esteem  of  men  by  kneeling 
devoutly  before  the  image  of  God  present  upon  the 
altar.  This  is  as  much  as  to  say  that  in  France 
there  is  a  government  animated  by  faith  and  the 
love  of  goodness,  which  rests  upon  the  people,  the 
source  of  all  power,  upon  the  army,  the  source  of 
all  strength,  and  on  religion,  the  source  of  all 
justice." 

The  satisfaction  of  the  Prince-President  was  un- 
mixed.    But  there  was  a  man  who,  more  Napoleonic 


THE  BEGINNING   OF  1852  383 

than  Louis  Napoleon,  more  of  an  imperialist  than 
the  future  Emperor,  could  hardly  conceal  his  dis- 
satisfaction. This  was  the  Minister  of  the  Interior, 
M.  de  Pcrsigny.  This  man  found  that  the  Republic 
was  lasting  too  long  and  the  Empire  not  coming 
sufficiently  soon.  " After  the  coup  d'Etat"  he  has 
written  in  his  Memoirs,  "the  Republic  no  longer 
existed  except  in  name !  But  the  passage  from  the 
republican  to  the  monarchical  form,  desired  by  some, 
dreaded  by  others,  still  appeared  so  difficult  of  real- 
ization that  no  one  would  have  dared  publicly  to 
declare  himself  in  favor  of  it.  Obeying  as  it  were 
a  sentiment  of  shame,  the  nation  seemed  to  banish 
the  necessity  of  another  transformation  from  its 
mind.  It  was  so  short  a  time  since  it  had  hailed 
the  Republic,  that  in  spite  of  its  desire  for  stability, 
it  shrank  from  dreaming  of  another  evolution.  The 
President  openly  censured  all  idea  of  change,  and 
especially  all  attempts  to  bring  about  constitutional 
manifestations." 

Things  were  at  this  point  when  Louis  Napoleon 
decided  to  make  a  long  excursion  in  the  departments 
of  the  South.  At  this  time  M.  de  Persigny  said  to 
the  Ministerial  Council:  "What  attitude  ought  we 
to  recommend  to  the  prefects  in  delicate  circum- 
stances ?  "  "  What  attitude  ?  what  circumstances  ?  " 
cried  his  colleagues.  "What  circumstances?"  he 
returned  ;  "  but  suppose  they  shout :  •  Long  live 
the  Emperor ! ' "  At  this  speech,  adds  M.  de  Per- 
signy, in  relating  the  incident,  "  an  unheard-of  scene 


384  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

occurred.  It  seemed  as  if  I  had  put  my  foot  into 
an  ant-hill.  Questions  rained  on  me  from  every 
side.  The  members  of  the  Council  got  up,  left 
their  places,  shouting  and  gesticulating.  They 
grouped  in  the  embrasures  of  the  windows,  talking 
animatedly  together,  then  turning  toward  me  like 
madmen,  and  asking  if  I  wanted  civil  war.  ...  I 
withdrew  alone,  followed  by  the  disturbed  and  irri- 
tated glances  of  my  colleagues,  and  wondering 
whether  I  should  not  at  once  receive  an  invitation 
to  hand  in  my  resignation."  After  this  scene,  the 
Minister  of  the  Interior  spent  one  day  in  a  sort  of 
stupor.  The  President  was  about  to  begin  his 
journey.  Not  a  moment  was  to  be  lost.  M.  de 
Persigny  wrote  a  telegraphic  despatch  ordering  the 
prefects  of  several  departments  through  which  Louis 
Napoleon  had  to  pass  to  come  to  him  without  delay. 
The  prefect  of  Cher,  M.  Pastoureau,  was  the  first 
to  arrive.  "  There  is  a  train  that  starts  for  Bourges 
within  an  hour,"  the  minister  said  to  him.  "  Do  not 
miss  it.  Go  back  to  your  post  without  seeing  any 
one  here,  and  without  acquainting  a  living  soul  with 
the  secret  instructions  for  the  journey.  These  are 
the  instructions :  The  Empire !  Long  live  the  Em- 
peror! And  let  us  make  no  mistake.  The  Due  de 
Reichstadt,  Napoleon  II.,  never  reigned,  but  the 
people  knew  him  under  that  name  for  a  long  time. 
He  was  proclaimed  by  his  father.  Let  us  render 
this  homage  to  his  memory,  and  call  the  nephew  of 
the  Emperor,  Napoleon  III.     This   title   will   make 


THE  BEGINNING   OF  1852  885 


the  dynasty  seem  older.  Do  not  lose  a  moment  in 
arranging  to  distribute  flags  to  each  municipality,  on 
one  side  of  which  shall  appear  the  words :  Long  live 
the  Emperor !  and  on  the  other :  Long  live  Napoleon 
III. !  and  when  they  are  filing  before  the  Prince  let 
them  shout.  Do  the  same  about  triumphal  arches. 
.  .  .  Manage  your  preparations  as  secretly  as  pos- 
sible." 

Having  taken  so  audacious  a  resolution  without 
the  knowledge  of  the  President  and  the  ministers, 
M.  de  Persigny  was  in  anguish.  "  At  every  mo- 
ment," he  says,  "at  every  noise,  at  every  changing 
of  sentries  at  my  door,  I  feared  lest  some  one  might 
be  coming  to  replace  or  to  arrest  me,  —  how  could 
I  tell?  —  and  the  work  might  be  compromised.  Then 
secret  doubts  and  terrors  occurred  to  me.  Had  I  not 
presumed  too  far  upon  popular  sentiment?  Would 
not  the  acclamations  in  favor  of  the  Empire  provoke 
collisions?  Sometimes  my  face  was  covered  with  a 
cold  sweat."  However,  the  terrors  of  the  adventu- 
rous minister  died  away.  When  the  Prince-Presi- 
dent started  on  his  journey  to  the  South  of  France, 
M.  de  Persigny  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  him 
enter  a  railway  car  without  either  himself  or  any 
one  around  him  seeming  to  have  the  least  suspicion 
of  what  was  going  to  happen.  The  prediction  of 
M.  Thiers  was  on  the  verge  of  accomplishment.  One 
might  say  that  the  Empire  had  succeeded. 

Thus,  the  same  man  who,  in  1848,  had  caused 
Louis  Napoleon  to  be  elected  a  deputy,  without  his 
2c 


386  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

knowledge,  was,  again  without  his  knowledge,  to 
have  him  acclaimed  Emperor.  One  may  question 
whether  the  imperial  fanatic  was  well  inspired  in  act- 
ing thus,  and  whether  a  Napoleonic  republic  would 
not  have  been  preferable  to  an  empire.  Would  not 
the  First  Consul  have  been  wiser,  happier,  more 
truly  great  than  the  Emperor?  Was  the  pompous 
display  of  a  court  in  harmony  with  modern  ideas? 
Was  it  to  Louis  Napoleon's  interest  to  efface  the 
R  and  F  which  he  had  just  inscribed  upon  the  eagle- 
surmounted  standards,  and  to  abandon  to  his  adver- 
saries such  a  talisman  as  the  word  Republic? 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 

THE  JOURNEY  IN  THE   SOUTH 

TT  was  the  14th  of  September,  1852,  when  Louis 
-*-     Napoleon    left  Saint-Cloud   to   make   his   jour- 
ney in  the  South.      His  first  stop  was  at  Orleans, 
where  the  prefect  had  not  received  special  orders. 
The   Prince   was  received  in  the  usual  way,  with 
cries  of:    "Long  live  the  Republic!    Long  live  the 
President !     Long  live  Napoleon  ! "  but  without  the 
slightest  imperialist  manifestations.     He  arrived  the 
same  day  at  Bourges.     There  M.  de  Persigny's  pro- 
gramme was  carried  out  to  the  letter.     The  Prince, 
not  without  astonishment,  heard  the  whole  popula- 
tion shouting:    "Long  live   Napoleon   III.!     Long 
live  the  Emperor!"     He  was  at  Nevers  the  15th  of 
September,  at  Moulins  the  16th,  at  Roanne  the  17th, 
at  Saint-Etienne  the  18th.     At  all  these  places  the 
imperialist   manifestations  reappeared.     Telegraphic 
despatches  giving  an  account  of  them  were  sent  to 
the  Ministry  of  the   Interior,  and  from   there   for- 
warded to  all  the  departments   to  be  posted  up  in 
every  commune  of  France. 

The  Prince  arrived  at  Lyons  on  the  19th.     There 
he  found  M.  de  Persigny.     "  The  reception  he  gave 

387 


388  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

me,"  writes  the  latter,  "  was  glacial.  Never  had  he 
treated  me  so  coldly.  He  made  no  allusion  to  my 
initiative,  but  he  was  evidently  offended  by  the 
determination  to  which  I  had  dared  to  come  alone, 
and  contrary  to  or  lacking  his  advice."  The  Prince 
had  just  written  a  speech  to  be  delivered  at  Lyons, 
in  which  he  declared  his  intention  to  maintain  the 
Republic.  M.  de  Persigny,  General  de  Saint- 
Arnaud,  M.  Mocquard,  and  M.  Bret,  prefect  of 
the  Rhone,  united  in  trying  to  persuade  him  that 
it  was  too  late  to  arrest  a  movement  which  had 
taken  possession  of  all  France.  Louis  Napoleon 
yielded  without  great  resistance,  and  the  speech 
was  altered  forthwith.  "But  it  seemed  to  me," 
adds  M.  de  Persigny,  "  that  even  in  the  midst  of 
an  unheard-of  triumph  the  soul  of  this  great  prince 
experienced  a  sort  of  sadness  in  thinking,  on  one 
hand,  of  the  collisions  to  which  his  person  might 
be  exposed,  and  on  the  other,  of  regret  at  having 
been  surprised  by  an  event  which  he  had  not  fore- 
seen." 

On  the  21st,  the  Prince  unveiled  the  statue  of 
Napoleon  at  Lyons.  On  this  occasion  he  made  a 
speech  in  which  he  said:  "At  every  point  of  my 
journey  has  arisen  the  unanimous  cry  of  c  Long  live 
the  Emperor ! '  But  in  my  view,  this  cry  is  much 
rather  a  souvenir  which  touches  my  heart  than  a 
hope  which  affects  my  pride.  Prudence  and  patri- 
otism require  that  in  moments  like  these  the  nation 
should  reflect  before   fixing  its  destinies,  and  it  is 


THE  JOURNEY  IN   THE  SOUTH  389 

still  difficult  for  me  to  know  under  what  name  I  pan 
render  the  greatest  services.  If  the  modest  title  of 
President  can  facilitate  the  mission  entrusted  to  me, 
and  from  which  I  have  not  recoiled,  it  is  not  I  who, 
through  self-interest,  would  desire  to  exchange  it  for 
that  of  Emperor." 

The  Prince-President  was  at  Grenoble  on  the  22d 
of  September,  the  23d  at  Valence,  the  first  garrison 
of  the  Emperor  his  uncle,  the  25th  at  Avignon  and 
Marseilles.  The  day  before,  preparations  had  been 
discovered  in  this  city  for  the  employment  by  con- 
spirators of  an  infernal  machine.  The  only  result  of 
this  discovery  was  to  assure  the  Prince  a  still  more 
cordial  welcome.  The  27th  he  was  at  Toulon,  the 
30th  at  Aix  and  at  Nimes,  the  1st  of  October  at 
Tarascon,  the  2d  at  Montpellier  and  Narbonne,  the 
3d  at  Carcassonne,  the  4th  at  Toulouse,  the  6th  at 
Agen,  the  7th  at  Bordeaux. 

Baron  Haussmann,  who  soon  afterwards  became 
justly  famous  as  prefect  of  the  Seine,  had  organized 
the  reception  of  the  Prince  with  that  skill  and  admin- 
istrative science  of  which  he  had  the  secret.  In  his 
curious  Memoirs  he  has  described  the  minutest  de- 
tails of  the  reception  with  the  fidelity  of  a  Dangeau. 
We  will  leave  the  account  to  him :  "  For  the  entry 
of  Bordeaux  by  the  bridge  there  was  a  stated  cere- 
monial, which  had  been  many  times  employed,  and 
of  which  people  were  growing  weary.  The  arrival 
of  the  Prince  by  the  upper  part  of  the  river,  which 
I  proposed,  and  his  entrance  into  the  city  by  that 


390  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

beautiful  roadstead  of  which  the  arches  of  the  bridge 
seem  to  be  the  fluvial  portico,  admitted,  on  the  con- 
trary, of  an  unexampled  splendor  for  which  I  made 
myself  the  guaranty.  My  opinion  prevailed.  We 
agreed  that  one  of  the  vessels  of  the  steamboat 
company  of  the  upper  Garonne,  decorated  for  the 
occasion,  and  abundantly  provisioned  for  a  breakfast 
on  board,  should  be  at  the  orders  of  the  Prince  at 
Agen,  in  the  morning  of  October  7,  with  another 
boat  to  follow  it.  The  departure  from  Agen  would 
take  place  at  seven  o'clock  precisely,  the  tide  thus 
permitting,  so  that  the  arrival  at  Bordeaux  might  not 
occur  later  than  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon." 
This  programme  was  faithfully  executed.  M.  Hauss- 
mann  adds:  "The  Prince  by  his  affable  reception, 
his  simple  manners,  his  willingness  to  chat  with 
every  one,  even  were  it  but  for  a  moment,  and  to 
ask  questions  about  everything,  completely  charmed 
all  present.  He  noticed  the  country,  the  course  of 
the  Garonne,  and  asked  the  names  of  the  cities  and 
towns  lying  on  either  bank,  the  houses  of  which 
were  covered  with  flags,  and  whose  inhabitants  were 
shouting,  '  Long  live  the  Emperor ! '  as  he  passed  by, 
and  making  powder  speak  in  every  way  at  their 
command." 

On  approaching  Bordeaux,  Louis  Napoleon  went 
up  on  the  captain's  bridge,  wishing  to  get  a  better 
view  of  the  general  outlines  of  the  city.  Behind  the 
bridge,  when  he  was  actually  in  port,  this  unex- 
pected sight  struck  him  with  admiration  and  sur- 


THE  JOURNEY  IN  THE  SOUTH  391 

prise.    Pressing  the  arm  of  the  prefect,  he  exclaimed: 
u  How  beautiful  it  is ! " 

From  the  bridge  to  the  landing-place  of  the 
vertical  wharf,  in  front  of  the  Quinconces,  the 
French  vessels,  with  their  sailors  in  the  mizzen 
tops  and  on  the  yards,  were  drawn  up  in  six  un- 
interrupted parallel  lines,  three  on  either  side,  leav- 
ing a  space  four  metres  in  width  in  the  middle. 
Below,  opposite  the  facade  of  the  Chartrons,  rose, 
like  the  background  of  a  picture,  the  forest  of  masts 
of  foreign  vessels,  all  decked  with  flags,  in  front  of 
which  lay  the  vessels  of  the  state,  which  greeted  the 
arrival  of  the  Prince  by  salvos  of  artillery,  all  the 
bells  of  the  city  ringing  meanwhile.  Louis  Napoleon 
landed  on  the  platform  of  the  vertical  quay,  and  the 
authorities  received  him  under  a  velarium  sown  with 
golden  bees.  He  mounted  a  horse  and  rode  to  the 
extremity  of  the  Place  des  Quinconces,  where  the 
deputations  from  the  five  hundred  and  forty-four 
communes  of  the  department  of  Gironde  filed  past 
him,  preceded  by  banners,  their  mayors  and  deputy 
mayors  wearing  their  official  sashes.  The  members 
of  these  deputations  comprised  twenty  thousand  men, 
each  of  whom  wore  in  his  buttonhole  a  bronze  medal 
stamped  with  the  Prince's  effigy,  and  on  the  other 
side,  the  words  "  Journey  to  the  South.  Bordeaux, 
October  7,  8,  9,  and  10,  1852."  They  marched  to 
cries  of,  "  Long  live  the  Emperor !  Long  live  Napo- 
leon III.!"  Afterward  they  drew  up  in  lines  from 
the  Place  des  Quinconces  to  the  primatial  church 


392  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

whither  the  Prince  was  going.  He  went  on  horse- 
back, escorted  by  a  guard  of  honor  composed  of  the 
fashionable  young  men  of  the  city,  all  very  well 
mounted.  On  arriving  in  front  of  the  church  portal, 
he  was  complimented  by  the  Cardinal-Archbishop, 
Primate  of  Aquitaine,  who  conducted  him  to  the 
choir,  intoned  the  Te  Deum,  and  gave  the  benedic- 
tion of  the  Blessed  Sacrament.  The  procession  then 
resumed  its  march  to  the  Municipal  Palace,  where 
the  Prince  was  to  lodge  during  his  stay.  In  the 
evening  a  dinner  was  laid  for  sixty  persons,  and 
a  concert  given  in  the  garden  by  the  Saint  Cecilia 
Society.     The  whole  city  was  illuminated. 

The  next  day,  October  8,  another  dinner  of  sixty 
plates  at  the  Municipal  Palace,  and  a  ball  at  the 
Grand  Theatre,  one  of  the  finest  theatres  in  Europe. 
Baron  Haussmann  was  already  collaborating  with  M. 
Alphand,  the  skilful  engineer  of  roads  and  bridges, 
who  had  built  the  vertical  quay  of  Bordeaux.  They 
laid  their  heads  together  to  decorate  the  hall  in  a 
magnificent  manner.  Faithfully  reproduced  on  the 
level  of  the  stage,  it  formed  with  it  an  immense 
oval  which  accommodated  eight  thousand  persons. 
The  coup  d'oeil  was  dazzling. 

The  Prince  had  accepted  a  dinner  for  the  next 
day  from  the  Chamber  of  Commerce.  The  repast 
took  place  in  the  hall  of  the  Bourse.  One  hundred 
and  eighty  guests  were  seated  around  an  immense 
table.  A  vast  space  had  been  contrived  in  the  mid- 
dle of  this  table,  hollowed  out  so  as  not  to  impede 


THE  JOURNEY  IN   THE  SOUTH  393 

the  view  of  the  guests,  and  containing  a  real  garden 
and  a  reservoir  with  gushing  fountains.  Eight  hun- 
dred spectators  occupied  the  first  row  of  galleries. 
At  nine  o'clock,  when  the  repast  ended,  Louis 
Napoleon  rose,  and  in  a  vibrant  voice,  amidst  a 
profound  and  religious  silence,  uttered  these  words : 
M  There  is  a  fear  to  which  I  must  respond.  Certain 
persons  say,  distrustfully :  •  The  Empire  is  war.'  I 
say:  'The  Empire  is  peace.'  It  is  peace,  because 
France  desires  it,  and  when  France  is  satisfied,  the 
world  is  tranquil.  Glory  is  rightfully  bequeathed 
as  a  heritage,  but  not  war.  Have  the  princes  who 
pride  themselves  so  justly  on  being  the  grandsons  of 
Louis  XIV.  reopened  his  strifes  ?  War  is  not  made 
for  pleasure,  but  through  necessity,  and  at  these 
epochs  of  transition,  when  everywhere,  at  the  side 
of  so  many  elements  of  prosperity,  there  germinate 
so  many  seeds  of  death,  one  may  truly  say :  '  Woe 
to  him  who  shall  be  the  first  to  give  the  signal  for 
a  collision  in  Europe  ! '  "  Alas  !  why  have  the  sov- 
ereigns, and  Napoleon  III.  himself,  so  frequently  for- 
gotten this  prudent  reflection  ? 

Continuing  his  discourse,  the  Prince  developed  his 
programme  in  the  following  terms :  "  I  admit,  how- 
ever, that,  like  the  Emperor,  I  have  many  conquests 
to  make.  I  wish,  like  him,  to  win  the  dissident 
parties  to  conciliation,  and  to  bring  back  into  the 
great  popular  stream  the  hostile  currents  which 
are  wasting  themselves  to  no  one's  profit.  I  wish 
to  gain  to  religion,  morals,  comfort,  that  still  very 


394  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

numerous  portion  of  the  population  who,  in  the 
midst  of  a  land  of  faith  and  conviction,  hardly 
know  the  precepts  of  Christ,  who  in  the  heart 
of  the  most  fertile  country  on  earth  can  scarcely 
enjoy  its  products  of  prime  necessity.  We  have 
immense  uncultivated  territories  to  bring  into  culti- 
vation, roads  to  open,  harbors  to  dig,  rivers  to  render 
navigable,  canals  to  finish,  our  chain  of  railways  to 
complete.  Opposite  Marseilles  we  have  a  vast  king- 
dom to  assimilate  to  France.  We  have  all  our  great 
western  ports  to  bring  nearer  to  the  American  conti- 
nent by  the  rapidity  of  communication  which  we  yet 
lack.  We  have  everywhere,  in  fact,  ruins  to  rebuild, 
false  gods  to  cast  down,  truths  to  be  made  triumphant. 
This  is  how  I  understand  the  Empire  if  the  Empire 
is  to  be  restored.  Such  are  the  conquests  that  I 
meditate,  and  all  of  you  who  listen  to  me,  and  who 
desire  as  I  do  the  welfare  of  our  country,  are  my 
soldiers." 

Unanimous  plaudits  greeted  this  pacific  discourse, 
which  was  to  produce  as  great  an  effect  abroad  as 
it  did  in  France.  Some  time  after  concluding  it, 
Louis  Napoleon  went  up  to  the  first  row  of  gal- 
leries, from  which  he  watched  the  illuminations  of 
the  harbor  and  the  neighboring  hillsides.  Fireworks 
were  shooting  into  the  air  on  every  side. 

There  was  a  second  edition  —  a  popular  edition — 
at  the  Grand  Theatre  that  night  of  the  ball  given 
the  night  before.  Offered  by  the  city,  it  was  intended 
for  the  working  people.      Its  democratic  character 


THE  JOURNEY  IN  THE  SOUTH  395 

was  especially  pleasing  to  Louis  Napoleon,  who  sur- 
prised the  guests  by  attending  it  and  remaining 
longer  than  he  had  done  at  the  ball  of  the  night 
before.  As  he  entered,  fifteen  young  girls  ap- 
proached him.  One  of  these,  Mademoiselle  Aime"e 
Ruspino,  daughter  of  an  overseer  who  had  formerly 
been  a  city  fireman,  carried  an  immense  basket  of 
flowers.  Each  of  the  others,  who  were  uniformly 
dressed  in  blue,  held  a  bouquet  in  her  hand.  Made- 
moiselle Ruspino  addressed  a  compliment  to  the 
Prince,  who  opened  the  ball  with  her,  the  prefect 
dancing  vis-d-vis  with  another  workman's  daughter. 
Both  of  the  girls  received  a  cross  set  with  dia- 
monds the  following  day,  presented  by  the  Prince 
and  the  prefect.  The  lively  gaiety  of  this  popular 
ball  had  enchanted  Louis  Napoleon.  Never  had  he 
felt  happier  than  when  surrounded  by  these  prole- 
tarians who  gave  him  so  cordial  a  reception.  How 
men  should  felicitate  themselves  on  not  knowing 
their  future  destinies !  What  a  gloom  would  have 
pervaded  the  Prince's  countenance,  then  so  trium- 
phant, had  he  known,  during  these  ovations  of 
October  9,  1852,  that  on  February  29,  1871,  in  this 
same  hall  of  the  Grand  Theatre  of  Bordeaux,  trans- 
formed into  a  parliamentary  chamber,  the  downfall 
of  his  dynasty  would  be  proclaimed! 

On  the  day  settled  on  for  his  departure,  October 
10,  the  Prince  said  to  the  Municipal  Council :  "  Gen- 
tlemen, you  have  received  me  as  a  sovereign.  Kindly 
remember  me  as  a  friend."     Then  he  walked  to  the 


396  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

cathedral,  where  he  was  received  by  the  Cardinal- 
Archbishop.  M.  Haussmann  accompanied  him  as  far 
as  Laroche-Chalais,  where  he  took  his  leave.  The 
Prince  said  at  this  time :  "  I  could  not  be  better 
pleased  with  my  stay  here  and  with  all  I  have  seen 
in  Bordeaux,  nor  with  the  place  you  have  taken  in 
this  fastidious  region  and  the  services  you  are  here 
rendering  me."  And  he  added  with  a  smile :  "  When 
the  Prince  is  satisfied,  the  prefect  may  be  tranquil." 

In  the  Charentes  he  was  welcomed  still  more 
cordially  than  in  the  Gironde.  According  to  Louis 
Napoleon's  own  testimony,  this  was  undeniably  the 
most  energetically  sympathetic  reception  offered  him. 
The  least  hamlet  paid  its  tribute  like  the  largest 
city.  The  Prince  was  at  Angoule'me  October  10, 
at  Saintes  and  at  Rochefort  the  11th,  at  Rochelle 
the  12th,  at  Niort  the  13th,  at  Poitiers  the  14th,  at 
Tours  the  15th,  and  on  the  16th  he  re-entered  Paris, 
where  a  triumphant  return  had  been  prepared  for 
him. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 

THE  RE-ENTRANCE  INTO   PARIS 

""VTEVER  did  a  sovereign  make  a  more  ceremo- 
nious  and  splendid  re-entrance  into  his  capital 
than  that  of  Louis  Napoleon  to  Paris,  October  16, 
1852.  The  president  of  the  Republic,  who  was  to 
be  Emperor  before  the  year  was  out,  wished  already 
to  show  himself  to  his  future  subjects  in  imperial 
pomp.  That  which  he  displayed  was  a  sort  of  preface 
to  the  plebiscite  which  was  to  put  the  sceptre  into  his 
hand.  Along  these  boulevards,  so  recently  the  field 
of  civil  war  and  bristling  with  barricades,  a  chief  of 
state  advanced,  beneath  triumphal  arches,  in  all  the 
prestige  of  force  and  of  authority.  Republican  sen- 
timent was  far  from  having  disappeared  in  Paris, 
especially  among  the  workmen,  and  a  ceremony 
which  resembled  the  ovations  of  Roman  emperors 
was  not  calculated  to  please  all.  But  it  had  been 
so  cleverly  got  up  that  the  spectacle  attracted  even 
those  who  opposed  it.  The  crowd  was  enormous ; 
and  from  the  outskirts  of  the  city  and  the  neighbor- 
ing departments  a  stream  of  real  Bonapartists  had 
been  brought  in  who  counted  for  a  good  deal  in  the 
sympathetic    manifestations.      The   Parisians    came, 

397 


398  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

some  through  genuine  enthusiasm,  others  from  simple 
curiosity.  Great  deployments  of  troops,  drums,  mili- 
tary music,  fine  uniforms,  brilliant  processions,  have 
the  gift  of  charming  them.  All  along  the  road  the 
Prince  had  to  traverse,  from  the  Orleans  railway 
station  to  the  Tuileries,  —  about  two  leagues,  —  ap- 
peared decorated  houses,  sheaves  of  arms,  flags,  ban- 
ners, corporations  of  working  men,  innumerable  groups 
of  children  crowned  with  flowers,  and  of  young  girls 
dressed  in  white.  The  weather  was  superb.  A  mag- 
nificent autumnal  sun  was  shining. 

The  platform  of  the  Orleans  railway  station,  by 
which  the  Prince  was  to  arrive,  had  been  richly 
decorated.  An  armchair  of  red  velvet,  sown  with 
golden  bees,  and  surmounted  by  a  dais,  had  been 
placed  on  a  platform.  Delegations  from  the  great 
bodies  of  state  were  in  the  waiting-room.  As  two 
o'clock  struck,  salvos  of  artillery  and  bands  of 
choristers  announced  the  coming  of  the  train  into 
the  station.  The  Prince  was  saluted  by  cries  of 
"  Long  live  the  Emperor ! "  as  he  stepped  from  the 
car.  After  exchanging  a  few  words  with  several 
persons,  especially  with  the  Archbishop  of  Paris,  he 
mounted  a  horse,  having  as  escort  fifty-two  squad- 
rons of  cavalry,  and  the  procession  began  its  march. 
At  the  exit  of  the  platform  the  railway  employees 
had  erected  a  triumphal  arch.  For  an  instant  the 
Prince  was  obliged  to  halt,  so  thick  was  the  rain 
of  flowers  that  fell  at  his  horse's  feet.  One  hun- 
dred young  girls  of  the  twelfth  arrondissement  were 


THE  BE-ENTBANCE  INTO  PARI8  399 

offering  him  bouquets.  On  arriving  at  the  Place  Wal- 
hubert,  he  turned  towards  the  pavilion  occupied  by 
the  prefect  of  the  Seine  and  the  Municipal  Council. 
"  Monseigneur,"  said  the  prefect,  "  the  city  of  Paris, 
your  faithful  capital,  is  happy  to  see  you  re-enter 
within  its  walls  to-day.  For  a  month  its  heart  and 
mind  have  been  following  you  in  your  triumphant 
march,  and  awaiting  with  impatience  the  day  when 
it  too  might  greet  your  return  with  acclamations. 
Comply,  Monseigneur,  with  the  wishes  of  an  entire 
people ;  Providence  borrows  its  voice  to  bid  you 
terminate  the  mission  it  has  confided  to  you  by 
resuming  the  crown  of  the  immortal  founder  of 
your  dynasty."  Louis  Napoleon  replied  :  "  If  France 
desires  the  Empire,  it  is  because  it  thinks  that 
form  of  government  better  ensures  its  greatness 
and  its  glory.  As  for  me,  under  whatever  title 
it  may  be  granted  me  to  serve  it,  I  will  consecrate 
to  it  all  that  I  have  of  force,  all  that  I  have  of 
devotion." 

The  procession  resumes  its  march.  Here  on  the 
Place  Walhubert  is  an  arch  of  triumph  with  this 
inscription :  "  The  City  of  Paris  to  Louis  Napoleon, 
Emperor."  The  names  of  the  cities  visited  by  the 
Prince  at  the  time  of  his  last  journey  stand  out 
in  letters  of  gold,  with  their  arms  on  the  front  of 
the  arch.  They  cross  the  Austerlitz  bridge.  On  the 
Place  Mazas  they  find  thirty  thousand  people  from 
the  department  of  Seine-et-Oise.  On  the  boulevard 
Bourdon  is  another  arch  of  triumph  with  this  inscrip- 


400  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

tion:  "The  artists  of  the  Hippodrome,  to  Napoleon 
III."  At  this  moment  a  balloon  rises,  carrying  a 
colossal  gilt  eagle  with  a  wreath  of  laurel  in  its 
talons.  On  the  right  side  of  the  same  boulevard 
a  second  arch  appears,  with  these  inscriptions  on  its 
two  sides  :  "France  and  Napoleon,"  and  on  the  front, 
"  Empire.  Long  live  Napoleon  III."  They  reach 
the  Place  de  la  Bastille.  Here  the  deputations  from 
Seine-et-Marne  are  stationed. 

The  Prince,  still  on  horseback,  and  riding  a  few 
paces  ahead  of  his  immense  escort  of  cavalry,  passes 
over  the  whole  line  of  the  boulevards  from  the  Bas- 
tille to  the  Madeleine,  under  successive  arches  of 
triumph.  One  at  the  upper  end  of  the  boulevard 
Beaumarchais  is  surmounted  by  an  eagle  with  out- 
spread wings,  and  bears  this  motto:  "The  eighth 
arrondissement  to  Louis  Napoleon."  Another  appears 
in  front  of  the  Winter  Circus,  which  has  just  been 
completed.  On  the  summit  of  the  entablature  this 
inscription  may  be  read :  "  To  Louis  Napoleon,  the 
workmen  of  the  circus,"  and  beneath  it  the  three 
words,  "Amity.  Respect.  Devotion."  On  either 
side  of  the  bay  are  these  stanzas :  — 

Ami  des  travailleurs,  et  leur  ami  sincere, 
Non  content  de  leur  rendre  un  labeur  quotidien, 
Pour  eux,  dans  I'avenir,  combattant  la  misere, 
11  veut  de  leurs  vieux  jours  etre  encor  le  soutien.1 

1  Friend  of  the  working  men,  and  their  sincere  friend, 
Not  content  to  furnish  them  a  daily  task, 
For  them  in  the  future  warring  with  poverty, 
He  wills  to  be  their  mainstay  in  their  age. 


THE  RE-ENTRANCE  INTO  PARIS  401 

Dieu  nous  garde  la  paix!     Mais  un  jour  si  la  guerre 
En  lui  nous  menafait,  apres  nos  vozux,  nos  bras, 
Du  paisible  chantier  courant  a  la  frontiere, 
Pour  combattre  avec  lui,  nous  serions  tous  soldats.1 

Now  comes  the  triumphal  arch  of  the  Theatre 
Lyrique,  with  this  inscription :  "  To  Napoleon,  pro- 
tector of  the  arts."  And  this  of  the  Porte  Saint- 
Martin,  with  these  words :  — 

A  ve  C&sar  Imperator. 

The  Empire  is  peace.     France  is  satisfied. 

On  the  facade  of  the  Gymnase  is  a  gilt  eagle  with 
the  thunderbolt  and  the  imperial  crown  in  his  talons ; 
on  that  of  the  Vari^tds,  draperies  and  military  emblems. 
A  little  farther  off,  on  an  immense  canopy  sown  with 
golden  bees,  may  be  read  this  inscription :  "  To  Napo- 
leon III.  Long  live  the  Emperor ! "  This  is  the 
offering  of  the  two  theatres  which  already  style 
themselves  by  anticipation  the  Imperial  Academy  of 
Music,  and  the  Imperial  Theatre  of  the  Opera  Com- 
ique.  At  the  upper  end  of  the  rue  Vivienne  are  two 
oriflammes  erected  by  the  stockbrokers,  and  a  rich 
green  drapery  with  these  words  in  gold  letters :  "  To 
Louis  Napoleon,  the  Tribunal  of  Commerce  of  the 
Seine  and  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Paris." 
Here  on  the  boulevard  des  Capucines  is  a  great  arch 

1  God  keep  our  peace  !    But  if  one  day  war 
In  him  should  threaten  us,  after  our  prayers,  our  arms, 
From  peaceful  work-yards  running  to  the  frontiers 
To  combat  with  him,  we  would  all  be  soldiers. 
2d 


402  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

of  foliage.  The  Prince  arrives  at  the  church  of  the 
Madeleine.  At  the  foot  of  the  steps,  all  occupied  by 
the  pupils  of  the  communal  schools  and  those  of 
the  lyceums,  conducted  by  Brothers  of  the  Chris- 
tian Doctrine  and  professors  in  their  robes,  stands, 
with  his  clergy,  the  curd  of  the  parish,  the  Abbe" 
Deguerry,  one  day  to  be  a  victim  of  the  Commune 
of  1871.  The  Prince  reins  in  his  horse  in  front  of 
the  church  porch,  the  magnificent  colonnade  of  which 
produces  an  effect  so  grandiose.  The  curd  says  to 
him :  "  Monseigneur,  it  has  pleased  God  to  invest 
you  with  an  immense  power,  and  since  He  has  put 
an  ardent  love  for  the  people  into  your  heart,  what 
good  He  has  called  on  you  to  do !  What  good  you 
have  already  done  and  will  you  not  do  again !  May 
you  be  blessed  then,  Monseigneur,  in  the  name  of 
that  God  who  loves  France,  the  eldest  daughter  of 
the  Church." 

The  aspect  of  the  rue  Royale,  from  the  Place  de  la 
Concorde  to  the  garden  of  the  Tuileries,  is  not  less 
animated  than  that  of  the  boulevards.  From  the 
middle  of  an  innumerable  crowd  a  forest  of  flags  and 
banners  stands  out  in  full  relief;  corporations  of 
working  men,  deputations  from  rural  communes,  vet- 
erans of  the  First  Empire,  young  girls  dressed  in 
white,  crowned  with  laurels  and  roses,  representing 
the  markets  and  workshops  of  Paris.  At  the  en- 
trance of  the  Tuileries  garden  rises  a  grand  arch 
of  triumph.  On  the  front  of  it  appears  the  inscrip- 
tion :  "  To  Napoleon  III.,  Emperor  and  Saviour  of 


THE  RE-ENTRANCE  INTO  PARIS  408 

Modern  Civilization,  Protector  of  the  Arts  and  Sci- 
ences, of  Agriculture,  Industry,  and  Commerce,  the 
grateful  working  men."  On  the  left  side :  "  Consti- 
tution of  the  Year  VIII.  Constitution  of  1852.  Con- 
version of  Annuities.  Credit  Foncier."  On  the  right: 
u  Works  of  Public  Utility.  Railways.  Construction 
of  the  Louvre.     Rue  de  Rivoli." 

At  the  moment  when  Louis  Napoleon,  having 
passed  under  this  triumphal  arch,  enters  the  garden, 
he  is  inundated  as  it  were  by  a  rain  of  flowers.  The 
acclamations  redouble  until  his  arrival  at  the  chateau, 
that  architectural  emblem  of  sovereignty.  He  rests 
for  an  instant  in  his  apartments,  and  then,  as  the 
deputations  which  stand  in  the  garden  still  continue 
shouting  for  him,  he  shows  himself  on  the  balcony 
of  the  hall  of  Marshals,  and  thanks  the  crowd  by 
a  salute.  In  the  evening  the  streets  and  boulevards 
are  filled  with  promenaders.  A  great  many  houses 
and  all  the  monuments  of  Paris  are  illuminated. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

ABD-EL-KADER   AT   SAINT-CLOUD 

A  T  the  time  when  Louis  Napoleon  made  his  cere- 
monious  entry  at  the  Tuileries,  the  restoration 
of  the  grand  apartments  was  in  progress.  The  con- 
clusion of  this  task  was  to  coincide  with  the  restora- 
tion of  the  Empire.  Meanwhile,  the  Prince  lived  at 
Saint-Cloud.  When  he  arrived  there,  October  17, 
the  mayor  thus  addressed  him :  "  Prince,  for  the  last 
month  France  has  been  existing  on  a  single  thought. 
She  has  been  intent  on  the  details  of  the  marvellous 
journey  which  has  convinced  you  that  a  great  peo- 
ple, which  you  have  saved  from  the  dangers  of  ship- 
wreck, still  places  in  you  all  its  hopes  for  the  future. 
Reign,  Prince,  reign  for  long  years  over  a  country 
that  will  repay  you  in  love  and  devotion  for  the 
care  you  are  taking  for  its  welfare." 

At  Saint-Cloud,  on  October  30,  Louis  Napoleon 
received  the  visit  of  Abd-el-Kader.  A  few  days  pre- 
vious, just  before  ending  his  journey,  he  had  gone 
out  of  his  way  to  see  the  Emir  at  Amboise. 

Abd-el-Kader  had  been  a  prisoner  in  France  nearly 
five  years,  notwithstanding  the  promises  made  when 
he  surrendered  to  the  French,  December  23,  1847,  on 

404 


ABD-EL-KADER  AT  SAINT-CLOUD  405 

the  plateau  of  Sidi-Brahim.  The  day  before,  along 
with  the  promise  of  the  aman,  General  de  Lamori- 
cie*re  had  sent  him  his  own  sword  as  a  pledge  of  his 
promise.  The  Emir  wrote  in  reply:  "I  wish  you 
would  send  me  your  French  parole,  which  cannot  be 
gainsaid  or  altered,  and  which  will  guarantee  that 
you  will  have  me  transported  either  to  Alexandria 
or  Akka  (Saint  John  of  Acre),  but  not  anywhere 
else."  The  general  replied:  "I  have  orders  from 
the  son  of  our  king  (the  Due  d'Aumale)  to  grant  you 
the  aman  and  the  passage  from  Djemma-Ghazouat 
to  Alexandria  or  Akka.  You  will  not  be  taken 
elsewhere.  Come  at  your  own  convenience,  either 
by  day  or  night.  Our  sovereign  will  be  generous 
toward  you  and  yours."  The  Due  d'Aumale,  then 
governor-general  of  Algeria,  ratified  the  pledge  given 
by  General  de  Lamorici&re,  and  expressed  his  firm 
expectation  that  it  would  be  sanctioned  by  the  Gov- 
ernment. Nevertheless,  in  the  middle  of  October, 
1852,  Abd-el-Kader  was  still  a  prisoner  at  Amboise. 

The  interview  between  Louis  Napoleon  and  the 
Emir  had  a  touch  of  solemnity  in  this  chateau  to 
which  are  attached  so  many  historic  souvenirs. 
With  its  terraced  gardens,  eighty  feet  above  the 
ground,  its  bold  bell-turrets,  its  pointed  arches,  and 
its  two  great  towers  to  north  and  south,  —  inside  of 
which  a  carriage  might  be  driven  to  the  very  top,  — 
it  was  a  noble  frame  for  this  memorable  scene.  The 
Prince  said  to  the  Emir:  "Abd-el-Kader,  I  come  to 
tell  you  that  you  are  free.     You  will  be  taken  to 


406  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Broussa,  in  the  Sultan's  dominions,  as  soon  as  the 
needful  preparations  can  be  made ;  and  there  you 
will  receive  from  the  French  Government  a  salary 
worthy  of  your  former  rank.  As  you  know  already, 
your  captivity  has  long  caused  me  real  pain ;  for  it 
always  reminded  me  that  the  government  which 
preceded  mine  had  not  kept  all  the  pledges  given 
to  an  unfortunate  enemy ;  and,  in  my  view,  nothing 
is  more  humiliating  for  the  government  of  a  great 
nation,  than  to  misconceive  its  own  strength  to  the 
point  of  breaking  its  promise.  Generosity  is  always 
the  best  counsellor,  and  I  am  convinced  that  your 
residence  in  Turkey  will  not  disturb  the  tranquillity 
of  our  African  possessions.  Your  religion,  like  ours, 
teaches  submission  to  the  decrees  of  Providence. 
Now,  if  France  is  mistress  of  Algeria,  it  is  because 
God  has  so  willed  it,  and  the  nation  will  never 
abandon  this  conquest. 

"  You  have  been  the  enemy  of  France,  but  I  do 
not  render  less  justice  on  that  account  to  your  cour- 
age, your  character,  your  resignation  in  misfortune  ; 
and  this  is  why  I  feel  it  an  honor  to  end  your  cap- 
tivity, relying  fully  upon  your  promised  word." 

Abd-el-Kader  replied  by  assuring  the  Prince  of 
his  respectful  and  eternal  gratitude,  afterwards 
swearing  on  the  Koran  that  he  would  never  make 
any  attempt  against  French  domination  in  Algeria. 
He  added  that  to  suppose  the  law  of  the  Prophet 
permitted  the  violation  of  promises  made  to  Chris- 
tians would  be  to  misunderstand  both  its  spirit  and 


ABD-EL-KADER  AT  SAINT-CLOUD  407 

its  letter,  and  he  showed  the  Prince  a  verse  of  the 
Koran  which  explicitly  condemns,  without  exception 
or  mental  reservation,  whoever  violates  sworn  faith, 
even  with  infidels. 

The  chateau  of  Amboise  has  been  the  abode  of 
several  French  kings,  beginning  with  Louis  XI.,  who 
there  created  the  Order  of  Saint  Michael.  Charles 
VIII.  was  born  and  died  there.  Claude  of  France, 
wife  of  Francis  I.,  brought  nearly  all  of  her  children 
into  the  world  there.  To  so  many  souvenirs,  history 
will  add  the  release  from  captivity  of  Abd-el-Kader 
by  Louis  Napoleon.  This  event  has  already  been 
made  the  subject  of  a  large  picture,  which  is  in  one 
of  the  galleries  of  Versailles. 

The  Emir  saw  the  Prince  again  October  30,  and 
this  time  at  the  chateau  of  Saint-Cloud,  where  he 
came  with  General  de  Saint-Arnaud,  Minister  of  War, 
and  General  Daumas,  director  of  Algerian  affairs. 
While  waiting  for  the  Prince,  he  said  his  prayers 
devoutly.  Doubtless  it  was  the  first  time  that  a 
Mussulman  had  performed  his  religious  duties  at 
Saint-Cloud. 

When  Louis  Napoleon  made  his  appearance,  sur- 
rounded by  his  ministers  and  aides-de-camp,  Abd-el- 
Kader  stooped  to  kiss  his  hand.  Louis  Napoleon, 
raising  him  up,  clasped  him  affectionately  in  his 
arms.  After  warmly  expressing  his  gratitude,  the 
Emir  added :  "  I  wish  to  leave  a  document  in  your 
hands  which  shall  be  to  all  a  witness  of  my  oath. 
Hence  I  give  you  this  letter;  it  is  a  faithful  repro- 


408  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

duction  of  my  mind."  Some  of  the  principal  sen- 
tences of  this  document  are  thus  translated :  "  Praise 
to  the  only  God !  May  God  continue  to  give  victory 
to  Napoleon,  to  our  Lord,  the  Lord  of  Kings!  .  .  . 
He  who  is  now  before  you  is  the  former  prisoner 
whom  your  generosity  has  delivered,  and  who  comes 
to  thank  you  for  your  benefits,  Abd-el-Kader,  son  of 
Mahhi-ed-Din.  He  has  approached  Your  Highness 
to  offer  thanks  for  the  good  done  by  you,  and  to 
rejoice  in  beholding  you,  for  I  swear  by  God,  the 
Master  of  the  world,  that  you,  Monseigneur,  are 
dearer  to  my  heart  than  any  of  those  whom  I  love. 
.  .  .  You  have  believed  in  me,  you  have  not  put 
faith  in  the  words  of  those  who  doubted  me,  you 
have  set  me  at  liberty,  and  I  swear  to  you  solemnly 
by  the  word  of  God,  and  by  His  prophets  and  messen- 
gers, that  I  will  never  forget  your  benefits  nor  ever 
again  set  foot  in  Algeria.  When  God  willed  me  to 
make  war  against  the  French,  I  made  it ;  I  have 
fought  as  well  as  I  could,  and  when  God  so  decided, 
I  ceased  to  combat.  .  .  . 

"  I  am  a  witness  of  the  greatness  of  your  Empire, 
the  strength  of  your  troops,  the  immensity  of  the 
riches  of  France,  of  the  equity  of  its  leaders,  the 
uprightness  of  their  actions.  It  is  impossible  to  be- 
lieve that  any  one  could  vanquish  you  or  oppose 
your  wishes  except  Almighty  God." 

A  real  sympathy  had  evidently  been  established 
between  the  prisoner  of  Amboise  and  the  former 
prisoner   of   Ham.     It  was  openly  displayed  in  the 


ABD-EL-KADER  AT  SAINT-CLOUD  409 

closing  words  of  this  beautiful  letter :  "  I  hope  that 
in  your  benevolence  and  goodness  you  will  keep  a 
place  in  your  heart  for  me,  for  I  was  far  distant,  and 
you  have  placed  me  in  the  circle  of  your  intimate 
friends ;  if  my  services  do  not  equal  theirs,  I  equal 
them  at  least  in  the  friendship  I  bear  you.  May 
God  increase  love  in  the  hearts  of  your  friends  and 
terror  in  the  hearts  of  your  enemies !  I  have  noth- 
ing more  to  add,  unless  that  I  confide  myself  to  your 
friendship.  I  offer  you  my  good  wishes,  therefore, 
and  renew  my  oath." 

Louis  Napoleon  said  to  Abd-el-Kader :  "  Your  let- 
ter touches  me  more  deeply  because  I  had  not  asked 
you  for  a  written  promise,  finding  a  sufficient  guar- 
anty in  my  knowledge  of  your  character.  This 
spontaneous  action  on  your  part  is  a  proof  that  I  was 
right  in  believing  in  you." 

The  Prince  then  took  the  Emir  through  the  cha- 
teau of  Saint-Cloud  and  to  the  stables  to  see  his 
favorite  horses.  He  also  told  him  that  he  would 
presently  show  him  a  grand  review  of  cavalry  and 
have  him  try  the  horse  he  meant  to  give  him. 

Louis  Napoleon  and  Abd-el-Kader  were  very  well 
satisfied  with  each  other  when  they  parted.  The 
liberation  of  the  prisoner  had  produced  a  good  effect 
in  all  quarters.  He  assisted  a  few  days  later  at  the 
festivities  of  the  inauguration  of  the  Empire,  and  his 
presence,  a  symbolic  homage  of  Algeria  to  France, 
attracted  great  attention  from  the  crowd.  I  remem- 
ber that  although  very  young  at  the  time,  I  had  the 


410  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

honor  of  being  presented  to  the  African  hero.  His 
grave  and  noble  visage,  his  glowing  eyes,  his  dull 
complexion,  the  blue  mark  in  the  skin  of  his  fore- 
head, his  white  burnous,  his  soldierly  and  priestly 
bearing,  produced  an  impression  that  was  poetic  and 
imposing.  One  saw  in  him  the  veritable  cherif,  the 
descendant  of  the  Prophet. 

Louis  Napoleon  had  been  happily  inspired  in  ac- 
complishing an  act  of  generosity  and  justice  a  few 
days  before  ascending  the  throne.  It  created  a  pub- 
lic opinion  in  his  favor  both  in  Algeria  and  France. 
Abd-el-Kader,  moreover,  justified  in  a  striking  man- 
ner the  confidence  placed  in  him,  when,  nearly  eight 
years  afterward,  at  the  time  of  the  massacres  in 
Syria,  he  saved  the  lives  of  so  many  Christians 
threatened  by  Mussulman  fanaticism,  and  merited 
the  grand  cordon  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  by  his 
humanity  and  courage. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 

PARIS 


PARIS,  ungovernable  at  one  time,  easy  to  govern 
at  another,  is  a  city  which  at   certain   hours 
thinks  of  nothing  but  political  hatreds,  strifes,  and 
passions,  and  at  other  periods  takes  for  its  motto : 
"Gain   money,  and  amuse   yourself."     Mobile   and 
versatile,  by  turns   revolutionary  and  docile  to  au- 
thority, passing  almost  without  transition  from  the 
regime  of  democracy  to  that  of  aristocracy,  the  same 
men  at  an  interval  of  a  few  years  raise   barricades 
against    one    sovereign    and    triumphal   arches   for 
another.     Now  they  scorn   power,  and  again   they 
worship  it,  and  in  either  case  they  know  not  why. 
To-day  liberty  seems  to  them  the   chief  good;  to- 
morrow they  will  lose  it  without  the  least  regret. 
A    few    only    remain    faithful    to    their    principles, 
and,  persuaded  that  the  parliamentary  regime  is  the 
best  guaranty  for  the  prosperity  and  dignity  of  mod- 
ern society,  continue  to  believe  that  there  never  are 
sufficient  reasons  for  veiling  the  Statue  of  Liberty. 
But  these  men  are  rare,  and  in  the  view  of  many 
Frenchmen  a  coup  d'Elat  is  legitimized  by  success. 


411 


412  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 


The  right  they  recognize  most  willingly  is  the  right 
of  the  strongest.  They  abandon  to  a  few  isolated 
Catos  the  honor  of  delighting  in  defeated  causes. 

At  the  end  of  1852  men  no  longer  concerned  them- 
selves with  politics  in  Paris.  Parliamentarism  they 
considered  as  a  worn-out  and  unfashionable  Byzantine 
subtlety.  The  tribune  was  almost  an  archaic  ruin, 
and  very  few  persons  thought  of  repairing  it.  The' 
last  assemblies,  by  their  discords,  their  inconsequence, 
their  sterile  wordy  wars ;  the  parties  by  their  divi- 
sions, and  the  press  by  its  excessive  violence,  had 
fatigued  men's  minds.  The  same  city  which  had 
shed  its  blood  to  combat  the  ordinances  of  Charles  X. 
saw  Louis  Napoleon  muzzle  all  the  journals  with 
indifference. 

Doubtless,  a  large  number  of  workmen  remained 
loyal  at  heart  to  the  Republic ;  but  as  their  wages 
were  higher  than  ever,  they  quietly  enjoyed  their 
comfort.  They  had  just  finished  the  rue  de  Rivoli ; 
they  were  going  to  finish  the  Louvre.  The  transfor- 
mation of  Paris  was  their  work,  and  they  took  a 
certain  pride  in  making  it  the  capital  of  capitals. 
The  furious  diatribes  of  political  refugees  in  London 
and  Jersey  had  no  echo  in  the  Parisian  proletariat. 
Louis  Napoleon  drove  himself  in  his  own  phaeton, 
and  unattended,  through  the  most  crowded  quar- 
ters of  Paris,  and  was  menaced  by  no  attempt  at 
murder. 

As  to  the  middle  classes,  glad  to  be  rid  of  riots  and 
barricades,  they  enjoyed  a  quiet  which  seemed  par- 


PARIS  413 

ticularly  sweet  after  the  crises  of  recent  years.  The 
service  of  the  national  guards,  so  lately  tiresome 
and  dangerous,  was  now  only  a  harmless  recreation. 
At  the  head  of  this  Parisian  militia,  once  so  turbu- 
lent, now  so  calm  and  well-disciplined,  there  had  been 
put  an  old  general,  very  Bonapartist  but  with  the 
manners  of  the  old  regime,  the  Marquis  Lawoestine. 
He  gave  excellent  breakfasts  to  a  very  brilliant  staff 
in  a  fashionable  hotel  in  the  Place  Venddme.  Young 
men  of  the  wealthy  middle  class  were  very  proud 
of  caracoling  in  the  national  guard  on  horseback, 
and  of  showing  themselves  in  uniform  at  balls  and 
on  parade.  Business  men  are  always  in  good  humor 
when  they  are  making  money,  and  at  the  end  of  1852 
they  were  making  a  good  deal.  That  is  why  they 
were  nearly  all  imperialists.  The  pacific  programme 
of  Bordeaux  had  given  trade  and  commerce  a  scope 
and  security  which  permitted  men  who  were  at  all 
enterprising  to  make  fortunes  as  considerable  in 
quantity  as  they  were  swift  in  the  making.  The 
financiers  both  great  and  small,  the  merchants,  the 
speculators,  were  nearly  all  supporters  of  the  Govern- 
ment. 

As  to  the  aristocracy,  its  drawing-room  antagonism 
was  altogether  spiritless  and  could  not  be  taken 
seriously.  The  society  of  the  faubourg  Saint-Ger- 
main, much  more  brilliant  and  especiall}'-  much  more 
exclusive  than  it  is  at  present,  religiously  retained 
its  legitimist  faith,  but  at  bottom  was  extremely  glad 
to  be  rid  of  the  red  spectre  and  of  having  preserved, 


414  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

in  spite  of  so  many  disquietudes,  its  titles  of  nobility 
and  its  property  rights.  Moreover,  it  could  not 
forget  that  the  greatest  names  of  French  aristocracy 
had  figured  in  the  household  of  Napoleon  I.  and 
in  those  of  the  empresses  Josephine  and  Marie 
Louise.  Let  us  add  that  in  1852  Louis  Napoleon 
was  esteemed  the  saviour  of  the  Papacy.  The  acts 
that  had  committed  him  to  the  Italian  revolutionary 
party  dated  twenty  years  back,  and  the  conservatives 
considered  them  as  youthful  errors  which  had  been 
long  forgotten.  The  French  clergy,  with  very  few 
exceptions,  had  noisily  rallied  to  the  inheritor  of  the 
Empire,  and  it  was  the  bishops  who  had  given  him 
the  most  active  approbation.  Hence  the  legitimist 
party  could  not  summon  the  theory  of  the  throne 
and  the  altar  to  the  support  of  its  ancient  preten- 
sions. On  the  whole,  the  partisans  of  the  Comte  de 
Chambord  were  far  less  bitterly  opposed  to  Louis 
Napoleon  than  to  Louis  Philippe.  Take  it  all  in  all, 
the  Empire  was  less  distasteful  to  them  than  the 
reign  of  the  golden  mean,  and  they  owned  themselves 
that  if  they  were  in  power  they  would  prefer  to  be 
governed  with  the  Constitution  of  1852  rather  than 
with  the  Charter  of  1830. 

As  to  the  Orleanist  party,  it  had  dwindled  to  not 
much  more  than  a  few  personal  friends  of  the  Orldans 
princes,  and  a  little  group  of  doctrinaires,  as  people 
then  styled  men  who  remained  faithful  to  parlia- 
mentary principles.  Efforts  at  an  agreement  be- 
tween  Claremont   and   Frohsdorf   were    abandoned. 


PARIS  415 

Between  the  white  flag  of  the  elder  branch  of  the 
Bourbons,  and  the  tricolored  flag  of  the  younger 
branch,  all  accord  seemed  impossible.  Hence  there 
was  no  more  talk  of  that  famous  fusion  which  not 
long  before  had  given  rise  to  so  many  proceedings, 
and  such  frequent  goings  and  comings.  There  was 
the  less  temptation  to  renew  these  negotiations,  since 
there  was  no  denying  that  even  if  they  succeeded, 
they  could  produce  none  but  a  purely  theoretic  re- 
sult in  the  existing  condition  of  France.  Besides, 
Louis  Napoleon  had  neglected  no  means  of  rallying 
the  former  servitors,  both  military  and  civil,  of  the 
preceding  reign  to  his  side.  The  men  who  had  made 
the  coup  oVEtat,  —  General  de  Saint-Arnaud,  General 
Magnan,  Count  de  Moray,  the  greater  part  of  the 
ministers  and  counsellors  of  the  Prince-President, 
MM.  Achille  Fonld,  Drouyn  de  Lhuys,  Rouher,  Ducos, 
Billault,  Magne,  and  many  others, — had  been  Or- 
leanists.  The  July  monarchy  was  scarcely  repre- 
sented at  Paris,  except  in  the  French  Academy  and 
certain  centres  where  Louis  Napoleon  had  been  for- 
given neither  the  coup  oVEtat^  nor,  above  all,  the  de- 
crees of  January  22,  which  had  confiscated  a  part 
of  the  fortune  of  the  Orleans  princes. 

To  sum  up,  the  majority  of  the  Parisians  had 
abandoned  all  interest  in  politics,  and  were  thinking 
only  of  their  business  and  their  pleasures.  Every- 
thing was  prospering,  especially  the  trade  in  articles 
of  luxury.  The  ball  season  —  which  at  that  epoch 
commenced  with  winter,  and  ended  at  the  beginning 


416  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

of  Lent  —  promised  to  be  very  animated.  It  was 
known  that  there  were  to  be  magnificent  fetes  at  the 
Tuileries  and  the  ministerial  residences,  and  that  the 
grand  salons  of  the  faubourg  Saint-Germain  would 
also  be  open,  and  the  two  societies  vie  with  each 
other  in  elegance.  Women  had  never  spent  more 
money  on  their  dress.  Never  had  more  splendid 
equipages  been  seen  in  the  Champs  Elyse'es  and  the 
Bois  de  Boulogne. 

All  the  theatres  were  doing  a  splendid  business. 
The  dilettanti  arranged  to  meet  at  the  Ope"ra  on  Mon- 
days, Wednesdays,  and  Fridays ;  and  on  Thursdays 
and  Saturdays  at  the  Italiens,  in  the  Salle  Ventadour, 
that  sanctuary  of  the  art  of  song.  There  the  chief 
star  was  Mademoiselle  Sophie  Cruvelli,  a  German, 
who  had  Italianized  her  name,  and  who  has  become 
the  Vicomtesse  Vigier.  Blooming  with  youth  and 
beauty,  she  aroused  general  admiration  by  her  spir- 
ited acting  and  the  incomparable  power  of  her  voice, 
which  had  a  prodigious  compass,  and  was  both  so- 
prano and  contralto.  Two  artists  destined  to  become 
famous — Faure  at  the  Ope*ra  Comique  and  Got  at 
the  Come'die  Franchise  —  made  their  debut  at  this 
period.  Apropos  of  the  latter,  who  had  just  been 
playing  in  the  Legataire  Universel,  the  critic  of  the 
Moniteur  had  written  :  "  Got  has  the  same  qualities 
which  Paliprat  attributed  to  Regnard,  —  the  art  of 
enlivening  the  stage,  finesse,  and  grace.  Laughing- 
suits  him ;  he  is  clever,  he  is  natural,  he  is  diverting, 
he  is  pleasant,  he  is  easy."     The  Theatre  Francjais 


PARIS 


417 


had  a  whole  troop  of  first-class  artists,  —  Augustine 
Brohan  and  her  sister,  Madeleine,  Beauvallet,  Ligier, 
Geffroy,  Samson,  Provost,  Regnier ;  and,  above  all, 
the   sublime    interpreter  of    Racine   and   Corneille, 
Rachel,  the  tragedienne  of  genius.     In  October,  1852, 
she  played  the  r61e  of  Emilie  in   China.     Hippolyte 
Rolle,  the  critic,  wrote  at  the  time:  "Mademoiselle 
Rachel   is   Emilie    herself;    she   has    her  insatiable 
hatred,  her  ferocious  ardor  to  bathe  herself  in  blood, 
her  blind  contempt  of   danger,  her  audacities,  her 
impatience,  her  pitiless  disdain  for  hands  that  hesi- 
tate or  hearts  that  waver,  all,  even  to  her  cruelty ; 
but,  by  an  exquisite  art,  at  the  moment  when    the 
generosity  of  Augustus   and   his   natural   clemency 
fall  upon  this  ulcerated  soul  like  a  beneficent  dew, 
which  extinguishes  its   fire   and  heals   its   wounds, 
Mademoiselle  Rachel  expresses  the  appeasement  of 
her  hatred,  astonished  and  disarmed,  with  a  charm 
of  look,  and  gesture,  and  attitude,  which  makes  one 
comprehend    the    completeness    of    the    victory   of 
Augustus  over  the  rebel,  and  to  what  a  degree  she 
is  suddenly  subdued  and  mastered." 

The  courtiers  of  Louis  Napoleon,  who  called  his 
uncle  the  Emperor  Csesar,  and  himself  Augustus, 
thought  Cinna  an  opportune  play,  and  it  was  agreed 
that  it  should  be  performed  before  the  Prince  in  a 
gala  representation  given  at  the  Theatre  Francois, 
October  22, 1852.  Long  before  the  play  began,  the 
approaches  to  the  theatre  were  thronged  by  an  im- 
mense crowd,  and  the  windows  of  the  neighboring 


2  E 


»  a^^^M 


418  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

houses  were  filled  with  persons  waiting  to  salute 
Louis  Napoleon  as  he  came  from  Saint-Cloud.  The 
brilliantly  lighted  facade  was  decorated  with  eagles, 
the  letter  N  surmounted  by  imperial  crowns,  and 
a  triple  row  of  gas  jets.  Cries  of  "  Long  live  the 
Emperor ! "  announced  the  arrival  of  the  Prince, 
who,  on  alighting  from  his  carriage,  was  received  by 
the  director,  M.  Arstme  Houssaye,  and  entered  his 
box  through  the  apartments  of  the  Palais-Royal. 
The  hall  presented  a  dazzling  spectacle.  The 
women,  in  richly  ornamented  ball-dresses,  nearly 
all  carried  bouquets  of  violets,  —  the  Bonapartist 
flower.  In  the  pit  a  sheaf  of  tricolored  flags  sur- 
rounded a  bust  of  Louis  Napoleon.  During  the 
representation,  the  applause  of  the  spectators  empha- 
sized all  passages  which  could  be  interpreted  as  flat- 
tering allusions  to  the  Prince.  Mademoiselle  Rachel 
surpassed  herself.  After  the  tragedy  she  came  on 
the  stage  again  surrounded  by  all  the  artists  of  the 
Com^die  Francaise,  and  recited  an  ode  entitled,  The 
Umpire  is  Peace,  and  written  by  M.  Arstme  Hous- 
saye.    It  commenced  in  this  way :  — 

Je  suis  la  Muse  de  I'histoire, 
Mon  livre  est  de  marhre  ou  d'airain. 
Quand  vient  Vheure  de  la  victoire 
Je  prends  mon  stylet  souverain. 

Un  houveau  cycle  recommence, 
Le  vieux  monde  s'est  reveille'. 
Deja  dans  I'horizon  immense 
L'e'toile  d'or  a  scintille'. 


PARIS  419 


L' Empire,  c'est  la  paix!  paix  qui  sera  feconde. 
Quand  Dieu  veut  que  du  Nil  la  Jlots  soient  assoupis, 
Oil  le  Nil  de'bordait  jaillissent  des  e'pis. 
L 'Empire  a  deborde  pour  feconder  le  monde. 

Grande  ruche  en  travail  par  les  beaux  arts  charmie, 
Paris,  une  autre  Athene,  Alger,  une  autre  Tyr, 
Des  landes  a  peupler,  des  villes  a  batir, 
Voila  les  bulletins  de  noire  Grande  Arme'e.  .  .  . 

0  Prince,  Tavenir  qu'hier  tu  fecondas 
Nous  ramene  aux  splendeurs  des  dga  magnifiques, 
Et  pour  suivre  avec  toi  tes  aigles  pacifiques 
Les  Francais,  tu  Vas  dit,  seront  tous  tes  soldats* 

These  are  the  two  last  stanzas,  which  were  noisily 
applauded :  — 

La  jeune  France  martiale, 
Qui  va  guidant  Vhumanite 
Avec  I'ide'e  imperiale, 
Rentre  enfin  dans  sa  majeste'. 

1 1  am  the  Muse  of  history, -My  book  is  of  marble  or  of 
bronze  -When  the  hour  of  victory  comes -I  take  my  sovereign 
stylus  -  A  new  cycle  recommences,  -  The  old  world  is  awaking.  - 
Already  in  the  immense  horizon  -The  star  of  gold  has  sparkled.  - 
The  Empire  is  peace!  peace  which  will  be  fecund. -When  God 
wills  that  the  floods  of  the  Nile  shall  be  abated,  -  Where  the  Nile 
overflowed  the  ears  of  grain  spring  up.  -The  Empire  has  over- 
flowed to  fertilize  the  world.  -Great  hive  at  work  by  the  fine  arts 
charmed,  -Paris  another  Athens,  Algiers  another  Tyre,  -  Waste 
lands  to  people,  cities  to  upbuild.-The.se  are  the  bulletins  of  our 
Grand  Army.  .  .  .  —  O  Prince,  the  future  thou  didst  fertilize 
yesterday  — Brings  us  back  to  the  splendors  of  the  magnificent 
ages,  — And  to  follow  thee  with  thy  pacific  eagles  — The  French, 
thou  hast  said  it,  will  all  be  thy  soldiers. 


420  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 


Nous  realiserons  le  reve 
Qu'avait  forme  Napoleon. 
Le  Louvre,  qui  bientot  s'acheve, 
Prince,  sera  ton  Pantheon.1 

1  Martial  young  France,  —  Which  is  to  guide  humanity  —  With 
the  imperial  idea,  —  Enters  at  last  into  its  majesty.  —  We  shall 
realize  the  dream  —  Formed  hy  Napoleon.  —  The  Louvre,  soon  to 
be  finished,  —  Prince,  will  he  thy  Pantheon. 


CHAPTER  XL 

MADEMOISELLE  DE  MONTIJO 

J  A  ROCHEFOUCAULD  has  said:  "Men  often 
-^  pass  from  love  to  ambition,  but  seldom  return 
from  ambition  to  love."  Louis  Napoleon  was  to  offer 
a  contradiction  to  this  maxim.  There  are  ambitious 
persons  who,  their  proud  dreams  realized,  suffer  as 
it  were  from  a  homesickness  for  love,  and  who  say 
with  Alfred  de  Musset :  — 

Eire  admire  n'est  rien,  V affaire  est  d'etre  aime'.1 

Louis  Napoleon  belonged  to  this  race  of  the  ambi- 
tious. At  the  moment  when  he  reached  his  goal 
after  so  many  trials,  and  could  exclaim  like  the 
Charles  V.  of  Victor  Hugo  :  — 

Oh!  V Empire!  V Empire! 
Que  m'importe,  fy  touche,  et  le  trouve  a  mon  gre; 
Quelque  chose  me  dit:  Tu  Vauras!    Je  Vaurai!* 

He  allowed  himself  to  be  charmed  by  reveries  and 
aspired  after  the  greatest  happiness  in  life:  love  in 
marriage. 

1  To  be  admired  is  nothing,  the  thing  is  to  be  loved. 

2  Oh  !  the  Empire  !  the  Empire  !  —  What  matters  it  to  me,  I  have 
it,  and  I  find  it  to  my  liking;  —  Something  tells  me:  Thou  Shalt 
have  it !    I  shall  have  it ! 

421 


422  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Francis  I.  used  to  say  that  a  court  without  women 
is  a  year  without  spring  and  a  spring  without  roses. 
Louis  Napoleon  was  of  the  same  mind  as  the  Knightly 
King.  He  could  not  understand  an  Empire  without 
an  Empress.  During  the  three  years  of  his  presi- 
dency he  had  not  dreamed  of  marriage,  because  a 
cloud  of  doubt  still  hung  over  his  political  destinies. 
He  had  brought  with  him  from  London  to  Paris  a 
very  beautiful  woman  who  was  very  devoted  to  him, 
but  whom  he  never  allowed  to  appear  in  the  salons 
of  the  Elyse'e  and  who  had  in  no  wise  the  character 
or  the  r61e  of  a  favorite.  M.  Odilon  Barrot  has  re- 
produced in  his  Memoirs  (Vol.  III.  p.  361)  a  curious 
letter  written  him  by  the  Prince  apropos  of  this 
beautiful  Englishwoman.  In  it  occurs  the  follow- 
ing sentence:  "As  until  now  my  position  has  pre- 
vented me  from  marrying;  as,  amidst  the  cares  of 
government  I  have,  alas !  in  my  own  country,  from 
which  I  have  so  long  been  absent,  neither  intimate 
friends  nor  acquaintances  of  childhood,  nor  relatives 
who  give  me  the  sweetness  of  family  life,  I  may  be 
pardoned,  I  hope,  an  affection  which  injures  nobody, 
and  which  I  do  not  seek  to  parade." 

The  prettiest  women  of  the  upper  classes,  both 
French  and  foreign,  figured  at  the  fetes  of  the  Elysee. 
The  Prince-President  was  courteous  and  obliging  to 
all,  and  showed  no  special  preference  for  any  one. 

After  the  coup  cFEtat  the  ministers  and  friends  of 
the  Prince  sought  to  marry  him  to  some  princess  of 
royal  or  imperial  blood.     But  their  attempts  were  not 


MADEMOISELLE  DE  MONTIJO  423 

fortunate,  because  there  still  existed  many  prejudices 
against  Louis  Napoleon  in  European  courts.  Never- 
theless there  was  one  matrimonial  negotiation  which 
for  a  moment  seemed  likely  to  succeed. 

The  Grand-duchesse  Stephanie  of  Baden,  born  Beau- 
harnais,  had  had  three  daughters  by  her  marriage  with 
the  Grand-due  Charles  Louis  Frederic  of  Baden,  who 
died  in  1818 :  Louise  Amelie  Stephanie,  born  in  1811, 
married  to  Prince  Gustavus  Vasa;  Josephine,  born 
in  1813,  married  to  the  Prince  of  Hohenzollern- 
Sigmaringen ;  Marie,  born  in  1817,  married  to  the 
Marquis  of  Douglas,  son  of  the  Duke  of  Hamilton. 

It  was  in  1 830  that  the  eldest  of  these  three  prin- 
cesses married  Prince  Gustavus  Vasa,  son  of  Gus- 
tavus IV.  of  Sweden,  who  was  dethroned  in  1809  and 
replaced  by  his  uncle,  Charles  XIII.,  who  adopted  the 
French  Marshal  Bernadotte  as  his  heir.  Exiled  from 
Sweden,  Prince  Gustavus  Vasa  lived  in  Austria,  where 
he  became  a  lieutenant  field-marshal  in  the  Emperor's 
service.  By  his  marriage  with  Princess  Louise  Ame- 
lie Stephanie  of  Baden,  from  whom  he  separated  in 
1844,  he  had  a  daughter,  Princess  Caroline  Vasa,  born 
August  5,  1833.  There  was  a  question  of  marrying 
this  princess  (now  Queen  of  Saxony)  to  Louis  Napo- 
leon. Prince  Gustavus  Vasa  said  he  was  not  opposed 
to  this  marriage  on  principle,  but  that  he  would  ask 
the  consent  of  the  Austrian  Court.  The  Emperor 
Francis  Joseph  made  him  understand  that  consider- 
ing the  fate  of  the  archduchesses  Marie  Antoinette 
and  Marie  Louise  he  should  not  be  at  all  anxious 


424  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

to  favor  a  marriage  with  a  French  prince,  and  the 
scheme  was  abandoned.  Louis  Napoleon  felt  little 
regret  at  the  failure  of  this  negotiation,  for  his  heart 
was  not  at  all  engaged  in  it. 

There  was  at  this  time  in  Paris  a  young  Spanish 
woman  who  attracted  the  attention  of  the  principal 
salons  by  the  splendor  of  her  beauty.  This  was 
Mademoiselle  Eugenie  de  Montijo,  Comtesse  de  Tdba. 
We  have  already  spoken  of  her  childhood,  and  we  left 
her  in  Paris,  in  1837,  a  pupil  at  the  Sacred  Heart 
Convent  in  the  rue  de  Varenne,  where  she  made 
her  first  communion.  She  lost  her  father  March  15, 
1839.  On  the  first  tidings  of  his  illness  she  and  her 
sister  left  France  to  rejoin  him  at  Madrid.  They 
were  accompanied  by  their  governess,  Miss  Flower. 
"You  would  not  believe,"  wrote  their  old  friend 
Merimee  at  the  time,  "  the  chagrin  I  experienced  at 
their  departure."  In  his  book  on  the  author  of  the 
Ohronique  du  regne  de  Charles  IX.,  M.  Auguste  Filon 
has  said,  apropos  of  this  departure :  "  They  were  thir- 
teen and  fourteen  years  old,  that  indeterminate  age 
when  the  woman  begins  to  peer  through  the  eyes  of 
the  child,  with  braids  of  hair  hanging  down  their 
backs  and  an  edge  of  embroidered  pantalettes  peep- 
ing below  their  petticoats.  The  beauty  of  the  second 
was  as  yet  only  in  the  prophetic  stage,  but  already 
one  recognized  a  certain  veiled  glance  and  a  certain 
bend  of  the  neck.  .  .  .  Merimee  was  moved  by  a 
fine,  delicate,  penetrating  emotion  when  he  saw  the 
stage-coach  which  was  to  carry  Paca  and  Eugenie 


MADEMOISELLE  DE  MONTIJO  425 

away  swing  into  the  court  of  the  Messageries. 
A  little  later,  yielding  to  a  heartfelt  necessity,  he 
parted  with  them.  He  made  the  children  and  Miss 
Flower  promise  to  write  to  him.  'From  all  this,' 
he  wrote  to  their  mother,  'there  will  surely  come 
a  letter.'  From  Oloron,  in  fact,  where  the  three 
travellers  were  detained  by  the  bad  weather  which 
made  it  impossible  to  cross  the  mountain,  Eugenie 
wrote  a  fine  letter,  on  ruled  paper,  to  M.  Merimee." 

After  her  husband's  death,  the  Comtesse  de  Mon- 
tijo  became  a  female  politician.  She  belonged  to 
the  party  of  Marshal  Narvaez,  and  her  salon,  Place 
d' Angel,  exercised  a  certain  influence  in  Madrid. 
Her  Sunday  evenings  were  very  popular.  Grandees, 
members  of  the  Cortes,  the  diplomatic  corps,  the 
leaders  of  art  and  literature,  met  there  by  appoint- 
ment. During  the  summer  the  countess  lived  at 
her  estate  of  Carabanchel,  which  had  belonged  to 
Comte  Cabarrus,  the  minister  of  Charles  IV.,  and 
where  his  daughter  Terezia,  famous  afterward  under 
the  name  of  Madame  Tallien,  had  passed  her  earliest 
years. 

We  have  often  had  the  honor  of  seeing  Madame 
the  Comtesse  de  Montijo  when  she  was  staying  in 
Paris  during  the  reign  of  her  son-in-law.  She  was 
a  very  great  lady  of  whom  we  have  preserved  a  re- 
spectful memory.  A  thorough  Spaniard,  an  impas- 
sioned patriot,  profoundly  loyal  to  her  country  and 
her  friends,  she  united  a  lofty  intelligence  to  an 
extremely  energetic  character.     She  was  a  woman  of 


426  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

mind  and  heart.  No  one  who  had  the  honor  of  fre- 
quenting her  salon  has  forgotten  with  what  distinc- 
tion she  presided  over  it.  Amiable,  witty,  full  of 
life  and  gaiety,  she  was  interested  in  all  the  news  of 
Madrid  and  Paris,  and  her  conversation  was  varied 
and  animated.  French  literature  had  as  great  an 
attraction  for  her  as  Spanish.  She  was  very  fond 
of  music  and  knew  all  the  operas  of  the  repertory 
by  heart.  Very  constant  in  her  attendance  at  the 
theatre,  she  patronized  the  players  and  received 
them  kindly  at  her  house.  At  Madrid  and  Cara- 
banchel  she  gave  little  balls  and  got  up  society 
comedies.  Merime'e  put  his  talents  as  a  mechanic, 
scene-painter,  prompter,  and  stage-manager  at  the 
disposal  of  the  hospitable  countess. 

"In  the  estate  of  Carabanchel,"  writes  M.  Auguste 
Filon,  "the  Comtesse  de  Monti  jo  planted  some  trees, 
and  with  that  admirable  power  of  illusion  which 
makes  all  things  possible,  hardly  did  they  spring  up 
when  she  saw  them  grow  large  and  enjoyed  their 
shade.  On  her  little  country  stage  she  ventured  to 
produce  grand  operas.  She  made  everybody  sing 
and  dance  ;  she  married  and  amused  people  till  her 
latest  hour.  She  distributed  pleasure,  she  imposed 
happiness  on  all  around  her ;  a  way  of  acting  which 
could  displease  those  only  who  have  very  indepen- 
dent and  very  particular  notions.  Most  people  are 
enchanted  to  accept  a  ready-made  happiness." 

The  two  daughters  of  the  countess,  Franchise 
(in    Spanish    Paca),   born   January    29,   1825,    and 


MADEMOISELLE  BE  MONT  HO  427 

Eugenie,  born  May  5,  1826,  excited  general  admira- 
tion, and  one  of  the  questions  mooted  by  Madrid 
society  was  which  of  the  two  was  the  more  beauti- 
ful. Their  admirers  were  divided  into  two  camps. 
The  elder  made  a  brilliant  marriage,  February  14, 
1844,  with  the  Duke  of  Alba,  twelve  times  grandee 
of  Spain.  The  younger  was  thus  spoken  of  by 
M.  de  Mazade,  who,  at  the  end  of  Louis  Philippe's 
reign,  had  been  charged  by  the  Ministry  of  Public 
Instruction  with  a  mission  in  Spain :  "  Mademoiselle 
Euge'nie  de  Montijo  had  made  a  great  reputation  in 
Madrid  society  by  her  daring  imagination  and  the 
ardent  vivacity  of  her  character.  She  impressed  one 
by  a  sort  of  virile  grace  which  might  easily  have 
made  her  a  heroine  of  romance,  and  before  assuming 
the  imperial  diadem  she  proudly  wore  that  crown 
of  hair  whose  color  a  Venetian  painter  would  have 
loved."  It  was  in  the  fortnightly  chronicle  of  the 
Revue  des  Deux  Mondes  for  January  31,  1853,  that 
M.  Mazade  published  the  lines  we  have  just  quoted. 

The  two  sisters  were  very  much  noticed  at  the 
time  of  the  fetes  given  at  Madrid  for  the  celebrated 
Spanish  marriages  (that  of  Queen  Isabella  with  her 
cousin  the  Infante  Francis  of  Assisi,  and  that  of  the 
Infanta  Louise,  the  Queen's  sister,  with  the  Due  de 
Montpensier,  son  of  King  Louis  Philippe).  At  the 
soiree  given  by  Comte  de  Bresson,  ambassador  of 
France,  October  7,  1846,  the  Due  d'Aumale,  who 
had  accompanied  his  brother  the  Due  de  Montpen- 
sier to  Madrid,  had  a  very  long  conversation  with 


428  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Mademoiselle  Eugenie  de  Montijo  and  fell  under  the 
spell  of  her  wit  and  beauty.  Madame  the  Comtesse 
de  Bresson,  widow  of  the  ambassador,  recently  told 
us  so.  The  Due  d'Aumale  has  not  forgotten  this 
souvenir  of  his  youth,  and  recalled  it  to  the  widow 
of  Napoleon  III.,  for  whom  he  professes  a  chivalrous 
respect.  Some  years  since,  on  arriving  at  Naples, 
the  son  of  King  Louis  Philippe  learned  that  the 
Empress  was  also  there.  He  called  on  her  and  re- 
minded her  of  that  soiree  of  October  7,  1846,  when 
he  spoke  to  her  for  the  first  time.  "  What  a  beauti- 
ful young  girl  Your  Majesty  was ! "  said  he.  "  And 
you,  Monseigneur,"  responded  the  unfortunate  sov- 
ereign, "  what  a  handsome  cavalier !  "  The  Due 
d'Aumale  and  the  Empress  Euge*nie  met  again  in 
May,  1896.  The  duke  owns  an  estate  in  Sicily,  on 
the  slopes  of  Zucco,  which  is  famous  for  its  vine- 
yards. He  was  entertaining  his  grand-nephew,  the 
Due  d'Orleans,  there.  The  two  princes  had  accepted 
an  invitation  to  breakfast  on  board  the  Namouna, 
the  yacht  of  Mr.  Gordon  Bennett,  the  rich  Ameri- 
can who  is  the  director  of  the  New  York  Herald. 
On  going  aboard  the  Due  d'Aumale  learned  that 
the  Empress  Eugenie's  yacht,  the  Thistle,  had  just 
anchored  in  the  roadstead  of  Palermo.  After  break- 
fast he  called  upon  her  and  mentioned  the  desire  of 
the  Due  d'Orle'ans  to  pay  her  his  respects.  The 
widow  of  Napoleon  III.  graciously  responded  that 
she  would  be  happy  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  the 
young   prince.     Mr.   Gordon    Bennett   immediately 


MADEMOISELLE  BE  MONTIJO  429 

lowered  the  launch  of  the  Namouna,  which  took 
the  Due  d'Aumale  and  the  Due  d' Orleans  on  board 
the  Empress's  yacht.  Her  Majesty  and  the  two 
princes  had  a  friendly  chat  which  lasted  more  than 
an  hour.  The  next  day,  the  widow  of  Napoleon, 
the  Due  d'Aumale,  and  the  Due  d'Orle'ans  break- 
fasted together  in  the  chateau  of  Zucco. 

Now  let  us  return  to  the  youth  of  the  Empress 
Euge'nie.  The  year  following  the  Spanish  marriages 
her  mother  occupied  the  highest  position  at  court 
which  a  woman  can  be  entrusted  with  in  Spain.  In 
October,  1847,  she  was  appointed  camarera  mayor  of 
Queen  Isabella.  Me'rime'e  wrote  to  her :  "  So  you 
are  really  camarera  mayor,  and  are  satisfied ;  that  is 
enough  to  make  me  satisfied  also.  You  can  do  good; 
that  is  sufficient.  Whatever  you  may  say  about  it, 
you  were  made  for  combat,  and  it  would  be  ridicu- 
lous to  desire  for  Csesar  the  tranquil  life  of  the 
second  citizen  of  Rome.  I  may  tell  you  that  people 
have  already  been  courting  me  on  your  account,  and 
I  suppose  they  will  soon  present  me  with  petitions. 
In  such  a  temper  as  I  am,  you  can  guess  how  I  shall 
dispose  of  them."  It  alarmed  Me'rime'e  to  know  that 
the  countess  went  out  alone  in  a  phaeton  with  a 
sovereign  menaced  by  numerous  conspiracies.  How- 
ever, she  was  camarera  mayor  for  a  very  short  time. 
"Less  than  three  months  after  her  appointment," 
writes  M.  Auguste  Filon,  "  the  Comtesse  de  Montijo 
spontaneously  resigned  the  post  she  had  accepted 
with    joy,   but  whose   difficulties   and    dangers   she 


430  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

was  soon  to  learn.  An  intrigue  was  formed  to 
deprive  her  of  the  Queen's  confidence.  Merimee 
was  surprised  that  the  Government  should  not  have 
been  better  able  to  defend  so  useful  an  auxiliary.  It 
was  not  long  before  he  comprehended  that  the  in- 
telligence and  increasing  influence  of  the  camarera 
mayor  were  precisely  what  gave  umbrage  to  the 
masters  of  Spain,  and  Madame  de  Montijo  made 
up  her  mind  at  once.  Her  ambition  was  of  the 
right  kind,  and  would  not  accept  a  precarious,  con- 
tested authority,  purchased  by  compromises  or  con- 
cessions. She  preferred  to  resign  rather  than  to 
submit." 

Madame  and  Mademoiselle  de  Montijo  were  in 
Madrid  when  the  revolution  of  February  24,  1848, 
broke  out.  They  followed  its  phases  and  results 
with  extreme  attention.  Mademoiselle  Eugenie 
found  Spanish  affairs  less  interesting  than  those  of 
France.  Perhaps  she  already  had  a  presentiment 
that  she  would  play  a  great  part  in  that  country 
whose  history  is  a  tragi-comedy  that  has  the  gift 
of  interesting  and  exciting  all  the  world. 

From  February  10  to  December  26,  1849,  Prince 
Napoleon,  son  of  King  JerQme  Bonaparte,  former 
sovereign  of  Westphalia,  was  the  ambassador  of 
France  at  Madrid.  They  say  he  conceived  at  this 
time  a  great  admiration  for  Mademoiselle  de  Montijo 
and  even  thought  of  asking  her  in  marriage,  but  that 
this  idea  was  not  encouraged  either  by  her  or  her 
mother. 


MADEMOISELLE  BE  MONTIJO  431 

In  1849  the  Comtesse  de  Montijo  and  her  daughter 
came  to  Paris.  Like  all  foreigners  of  distinction, 
they  assisted  regularly  at  the  fetes  of  the  Elysee, 
and  the  Prince-President  received  them  with  the 
attentions  due  to  their  rank.  But  no  one  as  yet 
foresaw  that  the  Prince  would  fall  in  love  with  the 
young  and  beautiful  Spanish  woman  who,  for  all 
that,  had  made  a  profound  impression  on  him  the 
first  time  he  met  her,  and  one  that  constantly  in- 
creased. 

The  persons  whom  Madame  de  Montijo  and  her 
daughter  saw  most  frequently  at  this  period  were 
not  Bonapartists.  They  visited  the  Marquis  and 
Marquise  de  Dampierre  at  the  chateau  de  Plassac 
(Charente-Inferieure),  where  an  asylum  had  been 
given  to  the  Duchesse  de  Berry  before  the  resort 
to  arms  in  1832.  At  Paris  they  usually  frequented 
the  houses  of  legitimists  or  Orleanists.  Still,  there 
was  no  Bonapartist  society  at  that  period.  The  offi- 
cial world  and  the  ministers'  themselves  were  not 
in  reality  partisans  of  Louis  Napoleon. 

Mademoiselle  de  Montijo,  however,  who  had  been 
brought  up  from  childhood  on  the  Napoleonic  epic, 
believed  in  a  speedy  restoration  of  the  Empire.  The 
passionate  interest  she  displayed  for  the  success  of 
the  coup  d'Etat  profoundly  affected  the  Prince- 
President.  M.  Auguste  Filon  has  written  that  his 
inclination  for  her  began  in  1849  and  "sprang  up 
stronger  than  ever  when  the  young  enthusiast,  in 
the  height  of  the  December  battle,  before  the  result 


432  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

had  been  decided,  wrote  to  the  Prince  to  place  all 
she  possessed  at  his  disposal  in  case  of  failure." 

The  year  that  followed  the  coup  cTEtat  was  a  series 
of  incessant  ovations  for  the  Emperor  Napoleon's 
heir.  The  quondam  proscript  passed  his  life  under 
triumphal  arches.  The  incredible  favors  lavished  on 
him  at  this  time  by  capricious  fortune  did  not  in- 
spire him  with  haughtiness  or  pride,  but  with  sen- 
timental reveries.  The  more  he  was  flattered  and 
applauded,  the  more  ecstatically  he  dreamed  of  the 
young  girl  who  had  conquered  his  heart  at  the  very 
time  when  he  had  conquered  power.  He  forgot 
the  fetes,  the  reviews,  the  applause,  the  fanfares, 
to  remember  Bruyere's  sentence :  "  A  beautiful  face 
is  the  most  beautiful  sight  of  all,  and  the  sweetest 
harmony  is  the  tone  of  voice  of  the  woman  we  love." 
According  to  the  statement  of  an  ocular  witness,  it 
was  between  a  sojourn  at  Fontainebleau  and  a  sojourn 
at  Compi^gne  that  his  love  was  seen  to  grow  with 
great  rapidity.  We  are  about  to  describe  these 
sojourns  at  full  length. 


THE   EMPRESS   EUGENIE 
At  the  ape  of  Twenty-six 


CHAPTER  XLI 

FONTAINEBLEATT 

HHHURSDAY,  November  11,  1852,  the  Prince- 
-*-  President  left  Saint-Cloud  to  go  to  Fontaine- 
bleau,  where  he  intended  to  spend  several  days  and 
receive  a  certain  number  of  guests.  He  arrived 
there  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  accompanied 
by  M.  Achille  Fould,  Minister  of  State,  General 
Roquet,  first  aide-de-camp,  the  Due  de  Caumont- 
Laforce,  senator,  General  Vaudrey,  governor  of  the 
national  palaces,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Fleury,  and 
Baron  de  Pierres,  one  of  whom  acted  as  first  and 
the  other  as  second  equerry.  The  homage  he 
received  gives  an  idea  of  the  sort  of  wild  flattery  of 
which  he  was  then  the  object.  As  he  descended 
from  the  train  the  mayor  of  Avon  said  to  him: 
"  Prince,  the  commune  of  Avon  is  happy  to  possess 
the  Fontainebleau  station  on  its  own  territory. 
This  procures  it  the  privilege  of  being  presented  to 
Your  Imperial  Highness  and  of  uniting  its  feeble 
voice  to  that  immense  concert  which  salutes  you 
from  all  points  of  France.  Obscure  as  it  may  be, 
you  will  not  disdain  this  homage ;  you  are  the  friend 
of  the  humble  and  the  poor ;  you  especially  love  the 
2f  433 


434  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

country  people,  and  when  they  present  themselves 
to  you  with  their  naive  simplicity,  they  please  you 
as  well  as  the  city  with  its  magnificent  honors." 

The  6th  regiment  of  hussars,  commanded  by 
Colonel  Edgard  Ney,  was  drawn  up  in  line  in.  the 
court  of  the  station.  It  escorted  the  Prince,  who 
went  from  the  station  to  the  chateau  on  horseback. 
At  the  entrance  of  the  city  a  triumphal  arch  had 
been  erected,  before  which  he  halted.  The  mayor 
of  Fontainebleau  at  the  time  was  General  Comte 
Heraclias  de  Polignac,  a  near  relative  of  the  minis- 
ter of  Charles  X.  The  general  made  the  following 
speech :  "  Monseigneur,  the  city  of  Fontainebleau 
is  happy  to  receive  Your  Imperial  Highness  at  the 
solemn  moment  which  is  to  alter  the  destiny  of 
France.  It  repeats  with  conviction :  '  The  Empire 
is  peace,'  while  adding:  'It  is  prosperity,  it  is  glory, 
not  the  glory  of  conquests,  but  that  which  is  given  by 
good  institutions  and  the  people's  love.'  To-day, 
Monseigneur,  the  city  of  Fontainebleau  forms  but 
a  single  wish,  which  is  that,  having  been  the  last  to 
salute  the  Empire,  it  may  be  the  first  to  salute 
Napoleon  III.  Emperor."  M.  Charpentier,  the  arch- 
priest,  surrounded  by  the  clergy,  was  still  more  en- 
thusiastic in  his  allocution :  "  Religion  and  justice," 
said  he,  "  are  the  two  rails  of  the  human  way.  For 
an  instant  we  dreaded  to  see  these  salutary  lines, 
so  deeply  embedded  in  French  soil,  carried  away  by 
the  torrent  of  revolutions.  But  God  protects  France, 
and  when  the  car  of  state  was  about  to  be  dashed  to 


FONT  A  TNEBLEA  U  435 

pieces  in  the  abyss,  Providence  raised  you  up  to 
sustain  it.  Your  advent  to  the  imperial  crown  will 
therefore  be  a  source  of  great  joy  to  all  the  people, 
and  on  the  day  when  its  grateful  voice  shall  have 
placed  the  diadem  upon  your  august  brow,  the  Church 
will  intone  a  hymn  of  hope  and  gladness :  Glory  to 
God  in  the  highest,  and  peace  on  earth  to  men  of 
good  will !  "  Twenty-five  young  girls  robed  in  white 
offered  baskets  of  fruit  and  flowers  to  the  Prince, 
who  rode  very  slowly,  on  account  of  the  greatness 
of  the  crowd.  Bouquets  rained  from  every  window, 
and  all  the  houses  were  hung  with  flags.  At  four 
o'clock  the  procession  arrived  in  front  of  the  chateau 
gate.  The  Prince  crossed  the  celebrated  court  of 
the  Adieux,  where  he  seemed  still  to  see  Napoleon 
embracing  General  Petit  and  pressing  the  eagle  to 
his  heart.  Then  he  ascended  the  horseshoe  stair- 
case and  entered  his  apartments,  which  were  those 
that  had  been  inhabited  by  his  uncle. 

The  next  day,  November  12,  the  guests  arrived 
from  Paris  by  a  special  train.  Among  them  were 
the  Princesse  Mathilde,  Prince  Napoleon,  General 
de  Saint-Arnaud,  Minister  of  War,  M.  Drouyn  de 
Lhuys,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  and  Madame 
Drouyn  de  Lhuys,  Lord  Cowley,  ambassador  of  Eng- 
land, and  Lady  Cowley,  M.  de  Maupas,  Minister  of 
Police,  General,  Madame,  and  Mademoiselle  Magnan, 
the  Marquise  de  Contades,  daughter  of  General  Cas- 
tellane,  the  Comtesse  de  Montijo  and  her  daughter, 
Mademoiselle    Eugenie.     No   one   as   yet  suspected 


436  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

that  three  months  later  the  young  and  brilliant  Span- 
ish woman  would  be  Empress  of  the  French.  She  and 
her  mother  were  modestly  lodged  at  the  chateau  in 
the  Louis  XV.  wing,  where  they  occupied  rooms  on 
the  second  story,  looking  out  on  the  English  garden. 

There  was  a  great  hunt  with  the  hounds  in  the 
forest  on  November  13.  The  rendezvous  was  at 
Belle-Croix.  From  the  picturesque  point  of  view 
nothing  can  surpass  the  forest  of  Fontainebleau  when 
illuminated  by  a  radiant  autumnal  sun.  The  trees 
have  a  nameless  air  of  unreality.  Beside  leaves  that 
are  still  green  glimmer  other  leaves,  red,  some  of 
them,  as  blood,  others  yellow  as  gold.  It  is  a  sight 
that  borders  on  apotheosis  and  enchantment.  In 
this  marvellous  scenery  Mademoiselle  de  Montijo, 
riding  a  horse  from  the  Prince's  stables,  was  like  an 
intrepid  amazon.  She  followed  the  chase  with  a  fear- 
lessness admired  by  all  the  cavaliers.  In  the  evening 
the  ceremony  of  the  "  Cure"e  aux  flambeaux  "  took 
place  in  that  magnificent  and  gracious  oval  court  at 
one  end  of  which  rises  the  baptistery  of  Louis  XIII. 

It  pleased  the  Prince  to  show  a  young  girl  whom 
he  greatly  admired  those  two  masterpieces  of  nature 
and  art,  —  the  forest  and  the  palace  of  Fontainebleau. 
We  do  not  believe  there  is  a  forest  in  the  world 
which  has  more  charm,  more  poetry,  than  this  one 
which  has  inspired  so  many  great  landscapists.  As 
to  the  palace,  it  is  assuredly  the  most  interesting,  the 
most  varied,  the  most  fairy-like  of  the  imperial  or 
royal  residences.     Every  epoch,  from  that  of  Saint 


F0NTA1NEBLEAU  437 

Louis  to  our  own  days  is  represented  there  by  ad- 
mirable specimens  of  architecture,  decoration,  and 
furniture.  What  a  frame  to  set  in  full  light  the 
beauty  of  a  woman  is  this  chateau  where  so  many 
enchantresses  have  shone,  and  where  lively  imagi- 
nations call  up  spirits  so  magnificent!  In  passing 
through  the  galleries  of  Francis  I.  and  Henri  II., 
does  not  one  seem  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  heroines 
of  the  Valois  court,  the  demoiselles  of  honor  of 
Catherine  de'  Medici,  the  radiant  Mary  Stuart,  the 
magical  Diane  de  Poitiers?  Has  not  the  chateau 
become  a  place  haunted  by  the  phantoms  of  the 
princesses  and  favorites  of  other  days  ?  Having  a 
veneration  for  the  memory  of  Marie  Antoinette, 
Mademoiselle  de  Montijo  wished  to  visit  the  apart- 
ments occupied  by  the  martyr  queen  in  her  days  of 
splendor ;  the  salon  of  her  ladies  of  honor,  her  music 
room,  the  boudoir  with  her  monogram  incrusted  in 
the  solid  mahogany  floor,  the  bedroom,  which  has 
been  called  the  chamber  of  the  five  Maries,  in 
memory  of  five  sovereigns  who  inhabited  it :  Marie 
de'  Medici,  Marie  TherSse,  wife  of  Louis  XIV., 
Marie  Antoinette,  Marie  Louise,  and  Marie  Amelie. 
When  pausing  there,  in  deep  emotion,  had  Made- 
moiselle de  Montijo  a  presentiment  that  this  legen- 
dary chamber  would  soon  be  hers? 

The  four  days  spent  by  the  Prince's  guests  at 
Fontainebleau  passed  very  agreeably.  They  break- 
fasted and  dined  in  that  glittering  gallery  of 
Henri  II.  where  the  architecture  and  art  of  the  six- 


438  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

teentli  century  have  said  their  last  word  in  the  way 
of  elegance  and  splendor.  How  beautiful  is  that 
gallery  of  fetes  with  its  gigantic  windows,  deep-em- 
brasured, five  on  the  garden,  five  on  the  oval  court; 
its  ceiling  divided  into  octagonal  panels  outlined  on 
a  ground  of  gold  and  silver;  its  richly  panelled  floor; 
its  monumental  fireplace ;  its  tribune  for  musicians ; 
its  walls  adorned  with  oaken  wainscoting  covered 
with  monograms  and  gilded  emblems  up  to  the 
height  where  mythological  frescos,  painted  from 
the  designs  of  Primaticcio  by  Niccolo  dell'  Abbate, 
begin  to  bloom  in  dazzling  colors  I  In  the  evenings 
they  chatted  or  walked  a  little  in  the  salons  adjacent 
to  the  gallery ;  some  of  the  guests  played  a  charade 
got  up  by  General  de  Saint-Arnaud. 

On  Sunday,  November  14,  they  heard  Mass  in  the 
chapel  of  the  chateau,  that  chateau  of  the  Holy 
Trinity  built  by  Francis  I.  on  the  site  of  the  oratory 
of  Saint  Louis.  Between  the  columns  of  the  altar, 
appear  in  niches  marble  statues  of  Charlemagne  and 
Saint  Louis,  and  above,  four  bronze  angels  attributed 
to  Germain  Pilon.  The  altar  is  surmounted  by 
colossal  statues  of  two  angels  .who  support  the  es- 
cutcheons of  France  and  Navarre ;  opposite,  at  the 
other  extremity  of  the  sanctuary,  is  the  tribune  with 
the  arms  of  the  Bourbons  and  the  Medici.  It  was 
in  this  chapel  that  the  marriage  of  Louis  XV.  and 
Marie  Leczinska  took  place,  and  also  the  baptism 
of  the  future  Napoleon  III.,  which  was  conferred 
November  10,  1810. 


FONTAINEBLEAU  439 

The  14th  of  November  was  the  vigil  of  Saint 
Eugenie,  Mademoiselle  de  Montijo's  patron  saint. 
The  Prince  offered  her  a  bouquet.  At  the  same 
time  he  presented  her  with  the  horse  she  had  ridden 
on  the  day  of  the  hunt,  and  whose  admirable  quali- 
ties she  had  fully  appreciated.  During  the  four 
days  Louis  Napoleon  displayed  the  utmost  respect 
for  the  young  Spaniard,  but  without  the  slightest 
affectation,  and  no  one  suspected  he  had  any  idea  of 
presently  asking  her  hand. 

The  Prince  would  not  leave  Fontainebleau  with- 
out giving  largesses  to  the  poor.  He  visited  the 
hospital,  the  Brothers'  school,  the  Sisters'  house,  and 
that  of  the  orphans,  leaving  tokens  of  his  munifi- 
cence at  each,  and  he  gave  from  his  privy  purse 
two  hundred  thousand  francs  for  the  restoration  of 
the  parish  church.  On  Monday,  November  16,  he 
went  back  to  Paris  with  his  guests. 

In  the  evening  of  the  same  day  they  all  met  again 
at  the  Opera  Comique,  where  a  representation  had 
been  commanded,  which  was  a  sort  of  continuation 
of  the  series  of  Fontainebleau.  After  the  Domino 
Nbir,  a  cantata  entitled  Chant  de  Vavenir,  the  words 
by  Mery,  the  music  by  Adolph  Adam,  was  executed. 
Flattery  took  every  form  to  exalt  him  who  was  already 
emperor  in  fact.     The  cantata  began  thus :  — 

La  France  est  satisfaile  et  le  monde  tranquille, 
Car  le  monde  a  toujours  les  yeux  sur  nous  ouverts, 
Et  quand  la  paix  descend  sur  cette  immense  ville, 
Le  calme  de  Paris  s'e'tend  sur  I'univers. 


440  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Sire,  voire  ceuvre  est  faite ;  oui,  deux  foix  elle  s'ouvre, 
L'ere  de  Pe'ricles,  d'Auguste  et  de  Leon. 

Un  aigle  plane  sur  le  Louvre, 

Une  croix  sur  le  Pantheon; 
Et  le  peuple  applaudit  le  soleil  qui  decouvre 
Ce  reve  colossal  des  deux  Napoleon.1 

A  couplet  in  honor  of  Queen  Hortense,  the  crowned 
artist,  touched  the  heart  of  her  son.  At  the  close 
of  the  representation  the  curtain  at  the  back  of  the 
stage  was  lifted  and  displayed  a  scene  representing 
the  completed  Louvre. 

1  France  is  satisfied  and  the  world  tranquil,  —  For  the  world 
always  has  its  eyes  open  on  us,  —  And  when  peace  descends  on 
this  immense  city,  —  The  calm  of  Paris  spreads  over  the  universe. 

—  Sire,  your  work  is  done  ;  yes,  it  opens  twice,  — The  era  of  Peri- 
cles, of  Augustus  and  of  Leo.  —  An  eagle  hovers  above  the  Louvre, 

—  A  cross  above  the  Pantheon ;  —  And  the  people  applauds  the 
sun  which  discovers  —  This  colossal  dream  of  the  two  Napoleons. 


CHAPTER  XLII 

THE  EMPIRE 

OUIS  NAPOLEON  had  accustomed  men's  minds 
-^  to  the  Empire  by  astute  gradations.  At  first  he 
had  been  styled  the  President  of  the  Republic,  then 
the  Prince-President;  afterwards  he  was  addressed 
as  Monseigneur  and  Highness  before  the  appellations 
of  Sire  and  Majesty  were  given  him.  Finding  no 
resistance  either  within  the  country  or  without,  he 
had  only  to  put  out  his  hand  to  seize  the  crown. 
Even  before  the  people  had  been  convoked  in  their 
assemblies  to  change  the  form  of  government,  he 
sent  a  message  to  the  Senate,  November  4,  in  which 
he  said:  "In  the  restoration  of  the  Empire  the 
people  find  a  guaranty  of  their  interests  and  a 
satisfaction  of  their  pride ;  this  restoration  guar- 
anties their  interests  by  assuming  the  future,  by 
closing  the  era  of  revolutions,  by  reconsecrating  the 
conquests  of  '89.  It  satisfies  their  just  pride  be- 
cause, lifting  up  freely  and  with  reflection  what  all 
Europe  overthrew  by  force  of  arms  thirty-seven 
years  ago,  amidst  the  disorders  of  the  country,  the 
people  nobly  avenge  themselves  for  their  reverses 
without  making  victims,  without  menacing  any  inde- 

441 


442  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

pendence,  without  disturbing  the  peace  of  the  world. 
Nevertheless,  I  do  not  shut  my  eyes  to  all  that  is  to 
be  dreaded  in  accepting  and  placing  on  my  head  at 
this  time  the  crown  of  Napoleon,  but  my  apprehen- 
sions are  lessened  by  the  thought  that,  representing 
by  so  many  titles  the  cause  of  the  people  and  the 
national  will,  it  will  be  the  nation  which,  in  raising 
me  to  the  throne,  will  crown  itself." 

The  date  of  the  plebiscite  was  fixed  for  November 
21  and  22.  The  result  was  doubtful  to  nobody;  it 
was  a  mere  formality  which  gave  rise  to  no  manner 
of  discussion  in  the  country. 

No  real  opposition  existed  except  among  the  politi- 
cal refugees  of  London  and  Jersey.  But  there  are 
times  when  governments  are  so  favored  by  fortune 
that  even  attacks  on  them  have  no  result  but  to 
increase  their  strength.  Far  from  preventing  the 
publication  of  the  manifestoes  of  the  refugees,  Louis 
Napoleon  had  them  inserted  in  the  Moniteur  of 
November  15,  in  the  place  devoted  to  official  docu- 
ments. The  QomitS  Revolutionnaire  of  London  thus 
expressed  itself:  "The  democracy  has  had  to  im- 
pose upon  itself  several  months  of  waiting  and 
suffering  before  striking  the  brigand  who  sullies 
our  country,  in  order  to  reorganize  in  spite  of  the 
Bonapartist  terror.  ...  As  soon  as  you  learn  that 
the  infamous  Louis  Bonaparte  has  received  his  just 
chastisement,  whatever  the  day  or  hour  may  be, 
start  from  every  point  at  once  for  the  rendezvous 
agreed  on  between  several  groups,  and  from  there 


THE   EMPIRE  443 


march  together  on  the  cantons,  the  arrondissements, 
and  prefectures,  so  as  to  hem  in  with  a  ring  of  iron 
and  of  lead  all  traitors  who,  in  taking  the  oath, 
have  become  the  accomplices  of  their  master.  Purge 
France  once  for  all  of  the  brigands  she  has  nour- 
ished, and  who  are  preying  on  her." 

The  manifesto  of  the  proscribed  "  sociate  "  demo- 
crats of  France  residing  in  Jersey,  among  other  sig- 
natures, bears  that  of  Victor  Hugo,  whose  style  is 
easily  recognized  in  its  composition :  M  M.  Bona- 
parte finds  that  the  moment  for  styling  himself 
Majesty  has  come.  He  has  not  restored  a  pope  to 
leave  him  nothing  to  do.  He  intends  to  be  con- 
secrated and  crowned.  .  .  .  Friends  and  brothers, 
in  presence  of  this  infamous  government,  the  nega- 
tion of  all  morality,  the  obstacle  to  all  social 
progress ;  in  presence  of  this  government  raised 
up  by  crime,  and  which  should  be  overthrown 
by  justice,  a  Frenchman  worthy  of  the  name  of 
citizen  neither  knows,  nor  cares  to  know,  whether 
there  are  pretended  ballotings,  comedies  of  univer- 
sal suffrage,  and  parodies  of  appeal  to  the  nation ; 
he  does  not  inquire  whether  there  is  a  herd  called 
the  Senate  which  deliberates,  and  another  herd 
called  the  people  which  obeys ;  he  does  not  ask 
whether  the  Pope  is  going  to  crown  at  the  high 
altar  of  Notre  Dame  the  man  who  —  there  is  no 
doubt  of  it,  it  is  the  inevitable  future  —  will  be 
bound  to  the  stake  by  the  executioner ;  in  presence 
of   M.  Bonaparte   and  his  government,  the   citizen 


444  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

worthy  of  the  name  does  but  one  thing,  has  but 
one  thing  to  do:  to  load  his  musket  and  abide  the 
hour." 

The  Moniteur,  having  reproduced  this  manifesto, 
added:  "It  is  regrettable  to  see  a  prince  who 
endures  his  misfortune  nobly  also  arrive,  by  an 
exaggerated  sentiment  of  what  he  believes  to  be  his 
duty,  at  denying  the  right  of  the  people  to  choose 
their  government,"  following  up  its  remark  by  re- 
publishing the  manifesto  of  the  Comte  de  Chambord, 
written  at  Frohsdorf  and  dated  October  25,  1852. 
The  conclusion  of  this  document  was  as  follows :  "  I 
owe  to  myself,  my  family,  and  my  country  to  pro- 
test openly  against  combinations  which  are  decep- 
tive and  full  of  danger.  I  maintain  my  right,  which 
is  the  surest  guaranty  of  yours,  and  taking  God  as 
witness,  I  declare  to  France  and  the  world  that, 
faithful  to  the  laws  of  the  realm  and  the  traditions 
of  my  ancestors,  I  will  religiously  preserve,  until 
my  latest  breath,  the  charge  of  the  hereditary 
monarchy  which  Providence  has  intrusted  to  my 
care,  and  which  is  the  only  port  of  safety  wherein 
France,  the  object  of  all  my  love,  can  at  last  attain 
repose  and  happiness  after  so  many  storms." 

Written  in  a  grave  and  noble  style,  with  great 
moderation  of  thought  and  language,  this  protest 
had  a  purely  academic  character.  It  was  not  the 
work  of  a  conspirator.  The  Comte  de  Chambord 
was  far  from  desiring  anything  analogous  to  the 
resort  to  arms  of  1832.     This  attempt  of  his  mother, 


THE  EMPIRE  445 


the  Duchesse  de  Berry,  was  to  be  the  last  effort  of 
the  legitimist  party,  from  the  point  of  view  of  action. 
Twenty  years  later,  even  the  Vendee  had  become 
imperialist.  Not  a  recruit  could  have  been  found 
there  for  an  insurrection  in  favor  of  the  white  flag. 

The  plebiscites  of  November  21  and  22  surpassed 
the  expectation  of  the  partisans  of  the  Empire.  Out 
of  8,140,000  voters,  there  were  7,824,189  ayes  to 
253,145  nays.  December  1,  the  members  of  the 
Senate  and  the  Corps  Legislatif  carried  this  result 
to  the  new  Emperor  at  Saint-Cloud.  On  this  occa- 
sion he  delivered  an  address  which  ended  thus  : 
"  Aid  me,  all  of  you,  to  establish  upon  this  soil,  torn 
up  by  so  many  revolutions,  a  stable  government 
based  upon  religion,  justice,  probity,  and  the  love 
of  the  suffering  classes.  Receive  here  the  oath  that 
nothing  shall  cost  me  too  dear  which  shall  assure  the 
prosperity  of  the  country,  and  that  even  while  main- 
taining peace,  I  will  concede  nothing  that  touches  the 
honor  and  dignity  of  France."  The  next  day,  De- 
cember 2,  the  new  regime  was  inaugurated  throughout 
the  Empire. 

In  the  morning,  at  Saint-Cloud,  Napoleon  III. 
signed  a  decree  elevating  Generals  de  Saint-Arnaud, 
Magnan,  and  Castellane  to  the  dignity  of  marshal 
of  France.  At  noon  he  set  off  on  horseback  from 
this  chateau,  escorted  by  the  12th  dragoons  and  the 
division  of  cavalry  reserve,  carbineers  and  cuirassiers, 
to  make  a  formal  entry,  into  Paris.  At  one  o'clock 
the  cannon  thundered,  and  the  drums  beat  a  salute 


446  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

to  announce  that  the  Emperor  had  just  arrived  at 
the  Arc  de  Triomphe  de  l'Etoile,  and  was  passing 
under  the  gigantic  vault  of  that  monument  conse- 
crated by  his  uncle  to  the  glory  of  the  French  army. 
At  the  same  moment  the  sky  cleared  up  and  a  ray 
of  sunlight  pierced  the  clouds.  Greeted  on  all  sides 
with  acclamations,  the  new  sovereign  passed  through 
the  Champs  Elysees,  the  Place  de  la  Concorde,  and, 
still  on  horseback  and  followed  by  his  escort  of 
cavalry,  crossed  the  pavilion  of  the  Horloge  and  on 
the  Place  des  Tuileries  and  the  Place  du  Carrousel 
reviewed  the  troops  of  all  arms  drawn  up  there,  who 
saluted  him  with  vivats.  Several  women,  among 
others  the  Comtesse  de  Montijo  and  her  daughter, 
had  been  invited  to  contemplate  this  spectacle  from 
the  windows  of  the  palace,  where  Abd-el-Kader  was 
also  present.  After  the  review  the  Emperor  went 
up  to  the  grand  apartments  which  had  been  newly 
restored  and  whose  magnificent  decorations  were  ad- 
mired by  everybody.  On  reaching  the  hall  of  the 
Marshals  he  showed  himself  on  the  two  balconies, 
one  looking  on  the  garden  and  the  other  on  the 
court.  At  the  same  moment,  Marshal  de  Saint- 
Arnaud,  surrounded  by  generals  on  the  Place  des 
Tuileries,  was  reading  to  the  army  the  proclama- 
tion of  the  Empire,  Comte  de  Persigny,  Minister  of 
the  Interior,  accompanied  by  General  de  Lawoestine 
and  his  staff,  reading  it  meanwhile  to  the  national 
guard  on  the  Place  de  la  Concorde.  At  nightfall 
the  public   edifices   and   many  private   houses   were 


THE  EMPIRE  447 


covered  with  illuminations;  in  the  evening  there 
was  a  grand  reception  at  the  Tuileries.  The  Napo- 
leonic propaganda,  imprudently  developed  in  the  first 
place  by  the  Liberals  under  the  Restoration,  and  after- 
wards by  the  Government  of  July,  was  bearing  its 
fruit.  The  prediction  of  M.  Thiers  was  finding  its 
fulfilment.  The  conspirator  of  Strasburg  and  Bou- 
logne, the  prisoner  of  Ham,  was  realizing  his  dream : 
the  Empire  was  made. 


CHAPTER  XLIII 

COMPIEGNE 

TN  December,  1852,  at  the  chateau  of  Compiegne, 
the  Emperor  inaugurated  those  sojourns  described 
as  series,  which  were  to  become  so  famous,  and  invi- 
tations to  which  were  as  much  sought  after  as  were 
those  of  Louis  XIV.  to  Marly.  In  the  stays  he 
made  at  Compiegne  up  to  the  end  of  his  reign, 
Napoleon  III.  was  much  more  like  a  great  noble 
receiving  his  guests  in  a  chateau  than  a  sovereign 
surrounded  by  the  prestige  of  a  throne.  But  he 
desired  his  first  residence  in  an  illustrious  palace  to 
be  characterized  by  a  majestic  display.  At  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Empire  he  was  minded  to  habituate 
people  to  monarchical  pomp,  and  besides,  he  was 
glad  to  appear  in  all  the  brilliancy  of  supreme  power 
before  the  young  girl  whom  his  heart  had  chosen. 
The  journey  was  delayed  for  several  days,  the 
Emperor  having  determined  to  wait  until  Made- 
moiselle de  Montijo  should  have  recovered  from  a 
cold. 

The  arrival  at  the  chateau  was  ceremonious.     It 
was   on   Saturday,  December   18,  1852.     The   rainy 

448 


COMPIEGNE  449 


weather  suddenly  cleared  up  and  the  sun  was  shin- 
ing brightly,  —  the  sun  of  Austerlitz,  as  the  courtiers 
were  pleased  to  say,  —  when,  at  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  the  great  bell  of  the  City  Hall  and  the 
cannons  of  the  national  guard  artillery  announced 
that  the  imperial  train  had  just  entered  the  station 
of  Compiegue.  All  the  church  bells  began  ringing, 
and  at  this  signal  the  crowd  flocked  in  compact 
masses  to  the  approaches  of  the  streets  through 
which  the  procession  was  to  pass.  As  the  sovereign 
stepped  down  from  the  car  the  mayor,  M.  Deverson, 
said  to  him:  "Sire,  the  Emperor  your  uncle  loved 
Compiegne,  which  he  loaded  with  his  benefits ;  he 
often  visited  its  palace,  which  was  restored  and  em- 
bellished under  his  glorious  reign.  Let  it  be  per- 
mitted us,  Sire,  to  found  upon  this  memory  the  hope 
of  frequently  greeting  Your  Majesty's  presence  within 
our  walls  by  acclamations."  After  a  few  words  of 
thanks,  Napoleon  III.  entered  the  station,  where  sixty 
young  girls  dressed  in  white,  with  a  wide  green 
satin  ribbon  over  the  shoulder,  were  assembled  to 
bid  him  welcome.  .One  of  them,  Mademoiselle  Dev- 
erson, niece  of  the  mayor,  made  an  address  and 
offered  him  flowers.  Then  he  mounted  a  horse, 
accompanied  by  a  numerous  staff.  At  the  moment 
when  he  was  leaving  the  platform,  the  oldest  of  the 
market-women,  Madame  Leguin,  recited  to  him  the 
following  verses,  composed  by  M.  Alphonse  Marcel, 
which  we  have  found  in  one  of  the  city  newspapers, 
the  Progres  de  VOise  :  — 
2a 


450  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Compiegne  est  un  grand  livre  oh  chaque  feuille  explique 
Et  votre  oncle  immortel,  et  son  sublime  nom. 
Ce  palais,  ce  jardin,  ce  berceau  magnifique, 
Tout  rappelle  Napoleon. 

Napoleon!     L'Europe  a  ce  nom  se  decouvre. 
S071  ombre  vous  protege,  et  dirige  vos  pas. 
La  guerre  l'a  grandi.     Vous,  que  la  paix  couvre 
De  lauriers  qui  n'attristent  pas ! 

A  present  que  le  calme  a  be'ni  les  orages, 
Que,  grace  a  vous,  les  flots  apaisent  leur  fureur, 
Sire,  venez  souvent  sous  nos  riches  ombrages 
Mediter  comme  I'Empereur!1 

The  national  guards  of  Compiegne  and  the  sur- 
rounding country  formed  the  line  on  the  right,  and 
the  troops  of  the  garrison  on  the  left.  The  sovereign 
passed  them  in  review  and  then  made  his  entrance 
into  the  city.  A  triumphal  arch  had  been  erected 
on  the  Oise  bridge.  After  crossing  the  bridge  and 
the  City  Hall  place,  the  Emperor  arrived  at  the 
church  of  Saint  Jacques.  The  Bishop  of  Beauvais 
was  waiting  for  him  under  the  portal,  and  said: 
"  When  hardly  yet  proclaimed,  the  Emperor,  at 
Paris,  directed  his  steps  toward  the  basilica  of  Notre 

1  Compiegne  is  a  great  book  each  leaf  of  which  explains  —  Both 
your  immortal  uncle  and  his  sublime  name.  —  This  palace,  this 
garden,  this  magnificent  arcade, — All  recall  Napoleon. — Napo- 
leon !  At  that  name  Europe  uncovers.  —  His  shade  protects  you 
and  directs  your  steps.  —  War  aggrandized  him.  You,  may  peace 
cover  —  With  laurels  that  do  not  sadden  !  —  At  present,  when  calm 
has  blest  the  storms, — When,  thanks  to  you,  the  waves  appease 
their  wrath,  —  Sire,  come  frequently  beneath  our  plenteous  foliage 
—  To  meditate  like  the  Emperor  ! 


COMPIEGNE  451 


Daine  and  the  asylum  of  suffering ;  and  today,  before 
entering  that  palace  which  reminds  him  of  so  many 
souvenirs,  Your  Majesty  desires  to  bow  before  the 
King  of  kings,  from  whom  all  empires  are  derived." 
Napoleon  III.  replied :  "  Monseigneur,  it  is  my  duty 
to  have  recourse  to  prayer  to  fulfil  my  mission  on 
this  earth.  Prayer  is  the  pledge  of  the  benedictions 
of  Heaven ;  by  it  and  by  assisting  the  suffering 
classes  we  attain  the  goal  towards  which  we  all 
should  tend."  On  leaving  the  church,  the  Emperor 
mounted  his  horse  and  resumed  his  route.  Acclama- 
tions resounded  on  every  side. 

On  the  Place  du  Chateau  the  crowd  was  so  dense 
that  the  corporations  ranged  beneath  their  banners 
could  not  keep  their  ranks  or  distances.  The  old 
soldiers  of  the  First  Empire  were  nearly  disbanded 
when  a  command  made  itself  heard,  and  on  the 
instant  the  old  heroes  rallied.  It  was  M.  Seville, 
curd  of  Beaulieu,  who  by  a  sudden  inspiration  made 
his  appearance  as  leader  of  the  old  phalanx.  This 
venerable  ecclesiastic,  who  was  decorated  the  next 
day,  had  been  a  non-commissioned  officer  and  had 
made  nine  campaigns  and  received  four  wounds  in 
the  armies  of  Napoleon  I. 

No  palace  lends  itself  better  to  the  entry  of  a  sov- 
ereign than  the  chateau  of  Compiegne,  with  its  facade 
flanked  by  two  pavilions  projecting  from  the  main 
front,  its  two  wings  united  by  an  Ionic  colonnade, 
crowned  by  an  Italian  gallery  forming  a  terrace,  its 
beautifully  wrought  grille,  its  vast  court  of   honor, 


452  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

its  central  building  ornamented  by  a  stone  balcony 
and  surmounted  by  a  sculptured  pediment  represent- 
ing the  hunt  of  Meleager. 

The  sovereign  traversed  the  entire  court  of  honor, 
alighted  from  his  horse,  passed  through  the  hall  of 
columns  on  the  ground  floor,  in  which  are  the  marble 
statues  of  Chancellors  l'H6pital  and  d'Aguesseau, 
ascended  the  grand  staircase,  entered  the  hall  of  the 
Guards,  ornamented  with  bas-reliefs  representing  the 
triumphs  of  Alexander,  and  gained  his  apartments. 
His  chamber  was  that  which  had  been  used  as  a 
study  by  Louis  XV.,  and  a  bedroom  by  Napoleon  I., 
Louis  XVIII.,  Charles  X.,  and  Louis  Philippe.  The 
bed  has  pilasters  of  gilded  wood  with  a  tent-like 
canopy  supported  by  lances.  The  chamber  is  situated 
between  two  rooms,  one  of  which  was  the  study  of 
Napoleon  IIT.  and  the  other  the  council  hall  of  the 
ministers.  The  former,  which  had  also  served  Napo- 
leon I.  as  a  study,  has  been  very  exactly  reproduced 
in  one  of  the  principal  scenes  of  Victorien  Sardou's 
Madame  Sans-  Gene.  Unfortunately,  all  the  shelves 
of  his  bookcase  are  now  empty.  Some  one  conceived 
the  unlucky  notion  of  transferring  the  books  to  the 
National  Library.  The  only  one  that  was  respected 
has  been  placed  under  a  globe ;  it  is  a  volume  which, 
in  this  very  place,  was  struck  by  a  Prussian  bullet 
when  the  city  was  invaded  in  1814.  As  to  the  coun- 
cil hall,  once  the  bedroom  of  Louis  XVI.,  one  may 
still  see  there  a  large  round  table  covered  with  green 
velvet,  around  which  the  ministers  of   Louis  Napo- 


C0MP1EGNE  453 


leon  assembled.  These  three  rooms — the  study,  the 
Emperor's  bedroom,  the  council  hall — give  on  the 
park,  like  all  those  comprised  in  what  are  called 
the  grand  apartments  of  the  chateau,  and  their  win- 
dows form  part  of  that  facade  of  the  park,  so  regu- 
lar and  so  imposing  in  aspect,  which  stretches  to  a 
length  of  two  hundred  metres.  Its  ground  floor  cor- 
responds with  the  first  story  of  the  buildings  in  the 
court  of  honor. 

Before  dinner,  the  Emperor  found  his  guests 
assembled  in  the  salon  of  the  maps,  so  called  because, 
instead  of  hangings,  it  contains  three  immense  maps 
of  the  forest  of  Compiegne.  Besides  the  Comtesse 
de  Montijo  and  her  daughter,  the  principal  guests 
were  Prince  Napoleon,  the  Princesse  Mathilde,  Prince 
Murat,  Lord  Cowley,  ambassador  of  England,  and 
Lady  Cowley,  Marshal  de  Saint-Arnaud,  Minister  of 
War,  M.  Drouyn  de  Lhuys,  Minister  of  Foreign  Af- 
fairs, and  Madame  Drouyn  de  Lhuys,  the  Comte  de 
Persigny,  Minister  of  the  Interior,  and  the  Comtesse 
Persigny,  the  Marquis  de  Valddgamas,  Minister  of 
Spain,  the  Due  de  Mouchy,  the  General  Prince  de  la 
Moskowa,  father  of  the  Comtesse  de  Persigny,  the 
Marquis  and  Marquise  de  Padoue,  Baron  and  Bar- 
oness de  Pierres,  the  Marquis  and  Marquise  de  Las 
Marismas,  the  Marquise  de  Contades,  daughter  of  the 
Marshal  de  Castellane.  The  Emperor  chatted  a  few 
minutes  with  several  of  his  guests,  and  then  they 
went  to  dinner  in  the  gallery  of  fetes.  This  gallerjf, 
where  the  repasts  were  eaten  during  the  Compiegne 


454  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

series,  was  built  by  Napoleon  I.  and  its  paintings  are 
by  Girodet.  Its  ceiling,  arranged  as  the  covering  of 
an  arch,  is  supported  by  twenty  columns  in  stucco 
with  gilded  capitals.  This  vast  hall  presents  a  mag- 
nificent aspect.  After  dinner  they  returned  to  the 
salon  of  the  maps,  where  they  assembled  before  meals, 
and  there  after  dinner  they  chatted,  played  charades, 
and  danced  to  the  music  of  a  mechanical  piano  which 
played  but  three  tunes :  a  quadrille,  a  waltz,  and  a 
polka,  the  handle  of  which  was  turned  by  a  chamber- 
lain, and  often  by  some  greater  person. 

While  the  Emperor  and  his  guests  were  spending 
the  evening  of  December  18  in  the  salon  of  the 
maps,  the  whole  city  of  Compi^gne  was  en  fete.  An 
immense  crowd  circulated  in  the  squares  and  streets. 
The  public  buildings  and  a  great  many  houses  were 
illuminated,  and  the  working  men's  corporations  gave 
a  grand  ball  in  the  city  theatre. 

The  next  day,  December  19,  was  Sunday.  The 
Emperor  heard  Mass  in  the  chapel  of  the  chateau, 
which  was  built  by  Louis  Philippe  on  the  occasion  of 
the  marriage  of  his  eldest  daughter,  Louise,  with 
Leopold  I.,  King  of  the  Belgians.  On  the  left  of  the 
hall  of  the  guards  there  is  a  room  called  the  salon  of 
the  chapel,  which  is  hung  with  Gobelins  tapestries 
representing  the  "Miracle  of  the  Mass,"  "Heliodorus 
driven  from  the  Temple,"  after  Raphael,  and  the 
"  Battle  of  Constantine  against  Maxentius,"  after 
Giulio  Romano;  the  salon  is  on  a  level  with  the 
tribune  in  the  chapel  which  the  Emperor  occupied 


COMPIEGNE  455 


during  divine  service,  and  communicates  with  it. 
Mademoiselle  de  Montijo,  her  mother,  and  several 
other  persons  seated  themselves  in  the  tribune. 
Opposite,  above  the  altar,  there  is  a  large  window 
painted  by  Ziegler  after  designs  made  by  the  Prin- 
cesse  Marie,  daughter  of  King  Louis  Philippe.  It 
represents  a  woman  in  a  violet  robe,  who  holds  a 
book  on  which  may  be  read  the  word  Ama,  "love," 
and  who  is  giving  her  hand  to  a  young  man  in  a 
red  robe  who  carries  a  cross  and  looks  upward. 
The  future  Empress  kept  her  eyes  on  this  window, 
whose  device,  Ama,  was  like  an  exhortation  to  love 
the  sovereign  who  was  to  give  her  so  great  a  proof 
of  his  own  love.  After  Mass  the  Emperor  received 
the  national  guards,  the  troops,  and  the  working 
men's  associations.  The  weather  was  superb.  It 
was  simply  a  long  ovation. 

December  20,  there  was  a  hunt  with  the  dogs  in 
the  forest.  The  horses  and  carriages  were  brought 
in  front  of  the  park  facade,  on  the  terrace  where  the 
statues  of  Ulysses  and  Philoctetes  may  be  seen. 
The  hunting  costume  was  the  same  as  in  the  days  of 
Louis  XV.  except  in  color,  the  royal  blue  with  silver 
trimmings  being  replaced  by  the  cabbage  green  of 
the  imperial  livery.  No  forest  is  better  adapted  to 
hunting  than  that  of  Compi£gne  with  its  14,859  hec- 
tares, its  8  highroads,  all  meeting  at  the  King's 
Wells,  its  278  crossroads,  its  27  streams,  16  ponds, 
and  15  fountains.  The  author  of  a  pleasant  book 
called     Compiegne,    M.    Lefebvre     Saint-Ogan,   bus 


456  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

written :  "  This  great  quantity  of  water  which  the 
forest  contains  essentially  distinguishes  it  for  the 
painter  from  that  of  Fontainebleau,  where  there  is 
none  at  all.  The  dry  atmosphere  of  the  forest  of 
Fontainebleau  gives  the  landscape  clearer  and  more 
precise  outlines.  At  Compiegne,  the  humid  air 
imparts  a  softer  brilliance.  A  silvery  vapor  floating 
before  the  eye  softens  the  edge  of  the  object  per- 
ceived and  reflects  the  light  with  intensity."  Made- 
moiselle de  Montijo  followed  the  hunt  on  horseback. 
Never  had  a  more  graceful  and  intrepid  amazon  been 
seen.  The  Emperor,  himself  a  bold  and  elegant 
rider,  could  not  but  admire  her.  In  the  evening,  at 
eight  o'clock,  the  dogs  were  fed  by  torchlight  in  the 
court  of  honor,  footmen  in  full  livery  and  with  pow- 
dered hair  holding  the  torches. 

Tuesday,  December  21,  the  Emperor,  accompanied 
by  one  of  his  aides-de-camp,  General  Canrobert,  left 
the  palace  in  a  two-horse  carriage,  at  ten  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  to  visit  the  city  asylums.  Entering  the 
chapel  of  the  hospital  for  the  poor,  he  made  a  short 
prayer,  after  which  he  passed  through  the  wards  and 
decorated  the  Superior,  Sister  Massin.  The  saintly 
religious  made  some  difficulty  about  receiving  this 
recompense  for  all  the  services  she  had  rendered  to 
the  hospital  she  had  directed  for  many  years. 

A  touching  scene  took  place  at  the  poor-asylum. 
The  Emperor,  who  had  been  told  that  there  was  in 
this  establishment  a  female  pensioner  who  had  wit- 
nessed his   baptism   at   Fontainebleau,   expressed  a 


COMPIEGNE  457 


wish  to  see  her.  Being  infirm,  the  woman  came  for- 
ward with  difficulty,  in  spite  of  the  sovereign's  ex- 
press prohibition  to  disturb  herself.  He  hastened 
toward  her,  shook  her  hand,  and  said  some  affection- 
ate words. 

Tuesday,  December  22,  there  was  a  dramatic  repre- 
sentation in  the  theatre  of  the  chateau.  Situated  at 
the  end  of  the  north  wing,  near  the  chapel  door,  on 
the  site  of  the  old  tennis  court,  this  hall,  which  still 
remains  unchanged,  had  been  constructed  by  Louis 
Philippe  for  the  festivities  attendant  on  his  daugh- 
ter's marriage  with  the  King  of  the  Belgians.  The 
representation  of  December  22,  1852,  was  the  first 
of  the  forty-nine  given  there  under  the  reign  of 
Napoleon  III.  The  troupe  from  the  Paris  Gymnase 
played  Un  Fils  de  Famille,  a  comedy-vaudeville 
in  three  acts  by  MM.  Bayard  and  Bieville.  The 
principal  interpreters  of  the  piece  were  Bressant, 
Lafontaine,  Lesueur,  Priston,  and  Rose  Cheri.  The 
imperial  box,  which  faced  the  stage,  could  contain 
more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  places. 

The  Emperor,  his  guests,  and  all  members  of  his 
civil  and  military  households  who  were  on  duty, 
seated  themselves  in  this  box.  The  beauty  of  Made- 
moiselle de  Montijo  centred  all  eyes  upon  it.  The 
right  and  left  sides  of  the  gallery,  separated  from  the 
imperial  box  only  by  light  railings,  were  exclusively 
reserved  for  ladies.  Officers,  up  to  and  including 
the  grade  of  captain,  all  of  them  in  uniform,  occupied 
the  orchestra  and  the  pit.     The  superior  officers  and 


458  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

the  civil  authorities  were  in  the  amphitheatre,  which 
was  between  the  pit  and  the  imperial  box,  some  two 
metres  below  the  latter.  A  second  row  of  boxes  was 
filled  with  the  chateau  servants,  and  a  second  gallery 
with  invited  guests  from  the  city  and  the  suburbs. 
Between  the  acts  the  spectators  of  the  orchestra,  pit, 
and  amphitheatre  remained  in  a  standing  position 
facing  the  Emperor.  Footmen  in  full  livery  passed 
ices,  cakes,  and  other  refreshments.  The  representa- 
tion went  off  as  well  as  could  have  been  desired. 
Play  and  players  had  a  real  success,  and  the  Emperor 
several  times  gave  the  signal  for  applause.  At  the 
end  of  the  piece  the  actors  sang  some  couplets  com- 
posed by  M.  Lemoine-M ontigny,  director  of  the  Gym- 
nase.  These  lines,  entitled  Repos  de  la  France,  are  far 
from  remarkable ;  but  we  cite  some  of  them  because 
they  give  a  very  good  notion  of  the  sort  of  flattery  of 
which  the  new  Emperor  was  then  the  object :  — 

L'Empire  est  fait,  un  peuple  immense 

A  parle  haut  et  librement 

Et  la  grande  voix  de  la  France 

Eclate  avec  entrainement 

En  un  long  cri  de  ralliement. 

Salut  regne  de  delivrance, 

Grand  nom  que  VUnivers  coanait ! 

Sauveur  d'un  siecle  qui  renait, 

Donne  le  repos  a  la  France.  .  .  . 

Oui,  tout  renait,  plus  de  misere. 
Le  travail  est  dans  chaque  main, 
La  maison  du  pauvre  s'eclaire; 
II  a  de  I'air,  il  a  du  pain, 


COMPIEGNE  459 


Et  I'epargne  du  lendemain, 
II  sail  qu'a  gue'rir  sa  souffrance, 
Le  pouvoir  s'applique  aujourd'hui, 
Et  son  Jils,  conseille  par  lui 
Be'nit  le  repos  de  la  France. 

Peuplcs  combatlus  par  nos  peres, 
Ne  voyez  pas  d'un  ozil  jaloux, 
Venir  la  Jin  de  nos  miseres. 
Vorage  qui  gronda  sur  nous 
N'a  point  passe'  si  loin  de  vous  ! 
Ah !  gardez-en  la  souvenance  ! 
La  France,  on  ne  peut  Vebranler, 
Sans  vous  /aire  tous  chanceler. 
Respect  au  repos  de  la  France.1 

This  is  the  final  stanza,  which  was  sung  by  Rose 
Cheri ;  it  was  an  homage  paid  to  the  memory  of 
Queen  Hortense,  which  was  what  touched  the  Empe- 
ror most :  — 

Reine,  de  grace  et  de  genie, 

Mere  d'un  en/ant  glorieux, 

1  The  Empire  is  made,  an  immense  people  —  Has  spoken  aloud 
and  freely,  —  And  the  grand  voice  of  France  —  Bursts  forth  with 
animation  —  In  a  long  rallying  cry.  — Hail  reign  of  deliverance, — 
Great  name  known  to  the  Universe  !  —  Saviour  of  a  new-born  era, 

—  Give  repose  to  France.  .  .  .  — Yes,  all  revives,  no  more  of  pov- 
erty. —  Work  is  in  every  hand,  — The  poor  man's  house  brightens, 

—  He  has  air  and  he  has  bread,  —  And  money  for  to-morrow.  — 
He  knows  that  to  relieve  his  sufferings  —  Power  applies  itself  to- 
day,—  And  his  son,  advised  by  him,  —  Blesses  the  repose  of 
France.  —  Feoples  combated  by  our  fathers,  —  Do  not  behold  with 
envious  eyes  —  The  end  of  our  miseries  approach.  —  The  storm 
which  muttered  over  us  —  Did  not  pass  so  far  away  from  you  !  — 
Ah  !  be  mindful  of  that !  —  France  cannot  be  shaken  —  Without 
making  all  of  you  totter.  —  Respect  the  repose  of  France. 


460  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

On  Va  vue,  illustre  bannie, 
Pour  sauver  ses  jours  precieux, 
Braver  un  destin  rigoureux. 
Lorsque  tu  vois,  heureuse  Hortense, 
Le  Jils  par  tes  soins  conserve, 
Sois  fiere  aussi  d'avoir  sauve, 
Reine,  le  repos  de  la  France.1 

A  second  hunt  in  the  forest  on  December  23,  was 
as  brilliant  as  its  predecessor.  The  Emperor  had  at 
first  intended  to  remain  but  four  days  at  the  chateau 
of  Compie~gne.  He  remained  eleven,  not  returning 
to  the  Tuileries  until  December  28.  For  him  the 
great  attraction  of  Compiegne  had  been  the  joy  of 
living  under  the  same  roof  as  Mademoiselle  de 
Montijo,  sitting  with  her  at  table,  listening  to  her 
always  lively  and  glowing  conversation,  and  seeking 
to  merit  her  heart.  Accustomed  as  he  was  to  mas- 
ter and  conceal  his  emotions,  he  had  not  found  it 
easy  to  restrain  his  passion.  As  much  in  love  as  a 
young  man  of  twenty,  he  was  softened,  subdued, 
fascinated.  And  yet  he  never  departed  from  the 
most  correct  reserve,  nor  gave  the  young  girl  so 
much  admired  any  precedence  which  would  have 
been  contrary  to  etiquette.  The  bitterest  enemies 
of  Napoleon  III.  have  never  denied  him  the  manners 
and  sentiments  of  a  perfect  gentleman.     His  attitude 

1  Queen,  of  grace  and  of  genius,  —  Mother  of  a  glorious  child, 
—  Thou  hast  been  seen,  illustrious  exile,  —  In  order  to  save  his 
precious  life, — Braving  a  rigorous  destiny.  —  When  thou  seest, 
happy  Hortense,  —  The  son  preserved  by  thy  cares,  —  Be  proud 
also  of  having  saved,  —  Queen,  the  repose  of  France. 


COMPIEGNE  461 


throughout  this  first  of  the  Corupiegne  series  was 
absolutely  irreproachable.  Possibly  his  projected 
marriage  was  already  settled  in  his  own  mind.  But 
neither  Madame  de  Montijo  nor  her  daughter  knew 
anything  about  it  as  yet.  The  courtiers  treated  the 
charming  Spanish  woman  as  a  foreigner  of  distinc- 
tion, worthy  of  all  respect,  but  not  at  all  as  a  future 
Empress.  Those  who  could  have  believed  that  Na- 
poleon III.  thought  for  an  instant  of  obtaining  the 
favor  of  Mademoiselle  de  Montijo  otherwise  than  by 
marriage  could  have  had  little  knowledge  of  the 
character  of  this  noble  and  haughty  young  girl  and 
the  profound  respect  in  which  the  Emperor  held  her. 
M.  de  Maupas  relates  in  his  Me* moires  sur  le  Second 
Empire,  that  on  one  bright  autumnal  morning  dur- 
ing this  stay  at  Compiegne,  the  Emperor,  accom- 
panied by  a  few  persons  only,  among  whom  were 
Madame  and  Mademoiselle  de  Montijo,  was  walking 
in  the  park.  "The  lawns,"  adds  M.  de  Maupas, 
"  were  covered  with  an  abundant  dew,  and  the  rays 
of  the  sun  gave  the  drops  still  hanging  on  the 
herbage  the  glow  and  transparency  of  diamonds. 
Mademoiselle  Eugenie  de  Montijo,  whose  nature  was 
full  of  poetry,  took  pleasure  in  admiring  the  capri- 
cious and  magical  effects  of  light.  She  especially 
called  attention  to  a  clover  leaf  so  gracefully  charged 
with  dewdrops  that  one  might  have  thought  it  a  real 
gem,  fallen  from  some  ornament.  When  the  walk 
was  over,  the  Emperor  drew  aside  Comte  Bacchiochi, 
who  started  for  Paris  a  few  minutes  later.     The  next 


462  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

day  he  brought  back  a  charming  trinket,  which  was 
no  other  than  a  trefoil,  each  of  whose  leaves  bore  a 
superb  diamond  dewdrop.  The  count  had  caused 
the  leaf  so  much  admired  by  his  future  sovereign  on 
the  previous  day  to  be  imitated  with  rare  perfection." 
In  the  evening  a  lottery  was  drawn  at  the  chateau. 
It  was  managed  so  that  this  trefoil  should  be  gained 
by  Mademoiselle  de  Montijo.  In  the  Emperor's 
mind  the  trinket  was  the  equivalent  of  an  engage- 
ment ring.  But  no  one  except  himself  yet  attached 
this  idea  to  the  poetic  present  the  beautiful  Spaniard 
had  just  received. 


CHAPTER  XLIV 

THE  FIRST  DAYS   OF   1853 

"VTAPOLEON  III.  took  his  resolution  definitively 
■^^  at  the  beginning  of  1853.  The  information 
given  on  this  head  by  the  former  preceptor  of  the 
Prince  Imperial,  M.  Auguste  Filon,  appears  authentic. 
He  writes  in  his  work,  entitled  MSrimSe  et  ses  amis, 
and  dedicated  to  the  Empress:  "  Between  a  sojourn 
at  Fontainebleau  and  a  sojourn  at  Compiegne — so  an 
ocular  witness  tells  me  —  the  love  of  the  Emperor 
was  seen  to  increase  with  great  rapidity.  But  how 
many  people  were  interested  in  combating  it !  And, 
in  the  Prince's  heart,  policy  and  reasons  of  state 
were  not  yet  vanquished.  I  have  not  to  relate  the 
incident  which  occurred  at  the  Tuileries,  in  the  hall 
of  the  Marshals,  on  the  evening  of  December  31, 
1852.  On  that  evening  the  Emperor  showed  himself 
a  different  man  from  the  one  who  had  allowed  Marie 
Mancini  to  depart."  The  incident  to  which  M.  Filon 
alludes  is,  we  believe,  the  following :  Mademoiselle 
de  Montijo,  who  was  leaning  on  the  arm  of  Colonel 
de  Toulongeon,  having  passed  in  front  of  the  wife 
of  a  high  official,  the  latter  gave  vent  to  her  ill- 
humor  in  some  offensive  words.     Very  much  moved, 

463 


461  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Mademoiselle  de  Montijo  complained  to  Napoleon  III. 
and  made  him  understand  that  she  could  remain  no 
longer  in  a  court  where  she  was  treated  in  such  a 
way.  The  Emperor  answered  her,  "  I  will  avenge 
you."  And  the  next  day  he  asked  her  in  marriage. 
She  was  then  living  with  her  mother  at  No.  12 
Vend6me  place,  on  the  first  story,  very  near  the 
Rhine  HQtel  where  Louis  Napoleon  was  lodging 
when  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Republic. 
The  Place  VendSme  had  brought  happiness  to  each. 

January  3,  there  took  place  at  Paris  a  ceremony 
calculated  to  touch  the  heart  of  the  young  girl 
whom  the  Emperor  was  about  to  take  as  his  com- 
panion. Very  Catholic,  like  nearly  all  Spaniards,  it 
pleased  Mademoiselle  de  Montijo  to  see  the  capital 
rendering  homage  to  Sainte-Genevieve,  and  the  so- 
lemnity which  coincided  with  the  Emperor's  offer 
of  marriage  seemed  a  good  omen  to  the  future 
Empress.  At  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  relics 
of  the  patroness  of  Paris  were  taken  in  great  pomp 
from  the  Metropolitan  church,  and  carried  through 
the  most  populous  quarters  of  the  capital,  to  resume 
the  place  they  had  formerly  occupied  under  the 
vaulted  roof  of  the  Pantheon.  The  crowd  pressed 
piously  around  the  venerated  reliquary.  The  basilica 
was  chiefly  occupied  by  working  people,  and  their 
presence  imparted  a  popular  character  to  the  cere- 
mony. At  the  end  of  the  Mass  the  Archbishop  of 
Paris,  mitred  and  holding  the  crosier,  ascended  the 
pulpit,  and  recalled  the    numerous   vicissitudes   en- 


THE  FIRST  DAYS  OF  185S  465 

countered  by  France,  and  the  temple  restored  by  the 
Emperor  to  Catholic  worship.  "  And  now,"  said  the 
archbishop,  "  sweet  and  glorious  protectress  of  Paris, 
resume  the  place  prepared  for  you  on  the  summit 
of  this  mountain  by  the  piety  of  fourteen  centuries. 
The  glory  of  to-day  effaces  the  misfortunes  of  yester- 
day. Turn  by  your  powerful  intercession,  turn  from 
this  capital,  storms  like  those  that  have  stricken  it 
so  often  for  more  than  half  a  century,  since  the  day 
when  impiety  drove  you  from  your  tutelary  throne. 
Then  protect  this  Emperor,  who  repairs  the  insults 
of  the  past,  and  augments  the  glory  of  this  sanctuary." 
To  religious  festivals  worldly  fetes  very  speedily 
succeeded.  January  12,  1853,  the  grand  balls  of  the 
Second  Empire  were  inaugurated  at  the  palace  of 
the  Tuileries.  The  guests  all  arrived  at  nine  o'clock 
precisely.  The  reception-rooms  of  the  palace  had 
never  been  so  brilliant.  People  went  up  the  grand 
staircase  and  entered  the  vestibule  of  the  gallery 
des  TravSes.  The  luminous  emblem  of  Louis  XIV. 
had  been  substituted  for  a  heavy  rosette  which  dis- 
figured the  ceiling,  and  around  the  emblem  of  the 
Sun-King  M.  Vauchelet  had  fitted  in  two  medallions 
and  four  cameos  representing  Wisdom,  Justice,  Sci- 
ence, and  Force,  with  their  attributes.  He  had  com- 
pleted the  decoration  of  the  ceiling  by  a  picture 
which  represented  Glory,  holding  a  palm  in  one 
hand  and  a  crown  in  the  other.  The  guests  crossed 
the  gallery  des  Travees,  then  the  gallery  of  Peace, 
where,  over  the  chimney-piece,  hung  a  portrait  of 
2  a 


466  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Napoleon  III.  on  horseback,  in  the  uniform  of  a  gen- 
eral of  division,  painted  by  Charles  Louis  Miiller. 
Next  they  entered  the  hall  of  the  Marshals,  entirely 
renovated  by  the  architect  Visconti.  Four  doors 
had  formerly  given  entrance  to  it ;  but  now  two 
more  had  been  opened,  corresponding  with  the  two 
principal  facades  of  the  chateau.  The  decoration 
of  the  vaulted  ceiling  had  been  entirely  modified. 
Four  arches  had  been  disposed  in  full  relief,  the 
springs  of  which,  resting  against  the  four  corners 
of  the  hall,  were  hidden  by  four  great  trophies,  sur- 
mounted by  eagles,  and  inscribed  with  the  names 
of  the  victories  gained  by  Napoleon  in  person.  The 
hall  contained  full-length  portraits  of  the  fourteen 
oldest  marshals  of  the  great  man  and  twenty-two 
busts  of  his  generals. 

The  women  wore  magnificent  costumes,  and  all 
the  men  were  in  uniform  or  court  dress.  "  Strange 
thing!"  wrote  M.  de  Mazade,  the  chronicler  of  the 
fortnight  in  the  Revue  ties  Deux  Mondes  ;  "  how  many 
men  there  were  a  few  years  ago,  who  made  it  a  point 
of  honor  to  defy  etiquette  and  appear  at  court  in 
democratic  costume  !  It  is  no  longer  the  same  now- 
adays, and  etiquette  resumes  its  empire.  We  cer- 
tainly do  not  complain  because  the  great  functiona- 
ries of  the  State  give  fetes,  because  ceremonies  have 
their  pomps  and  regulations,  and  one  must  dress 
properly  in  order  to  appear  at  court.  Very  likely 
there  are  industries  which  are  well  content  that  peo- 
ple shall  wear  velvet,  and  silk  stockings  become  in- 


THE  FIRST  DAYS  OF  1S5S  467 

dispensable ;  but  besides  these  external  things,  there 
is  evidently  a  profounder  task,  which  consists  in 
leading  society  back  to  the  cult  of  its  own  dignity ; 
to  the  superiorities  which  make  its  strength ;  to  the 
distinction  which  has  established  the  influence  of 
France  in  the  world.  This  inner  and  profound  task 
once  accomplished,  the  transformation  of  manners 
and  usages  will  follow  its  course.  It  will  go  as  far 
as  it  can,  and  be  arrested  by  the  limits  set  by  our 
time  and  modern  life." 

While  the  guests  were  reaching  the  hall  of  the 
Marshals,  the  sovereign  left  his  apartment,  and  en- 
tered the  salon  of  Louis  XIV.,  likewise  called  the 
Emperor's  cabinet.  A  copy  of  Lesueur's  Olympus 
decorated  the  ceiling  of  this  hall,  which  was  adorned 
by  three  pictures:  a  superb  portrait  of  the  Great 
King,  by  Rigaud;  a  copy  of  Gerard's  celebrated 
canvas,  representing  the  Due  d'Anjou  (Philippe  V.) 
receiving  the  Spanish  ambassadors  at  Versailles ;  and, 
finally,  a  composition  by  Mignard,  which  represented 
Anne  of  Austria  giving  instructions  to  her  young 
son,  Louis  XIV.  Napoleon  III.  afterwards  passed 
through  the  throne-room,  which  had  just  been  splen- 
didly restored.  The  canopy  of  the  throne  was  sur- 
mounted by  an  eagle  with  outspread  wings.  The 
draperies  of  crimson  velvet,  sown  with  golden  bees 
and  bordered  with  laurel  leaves,  were  attached  by 
rich  bands  to  two  candelabras,  of  which  the  extremi- 
ties supported  a  globe  and  a  crown.  A  platform, 
raised  on  three  circular  steps,  upheld  the  throne,  the 


468  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

pedestal  of  which  formed  a  footstool.  This  throne 
had  been  used  on  a  solemn  occasion,  —  the  crowning 
of  Napoleon  I.  On  the  background  of  the  draperies, 
surrounded  by  a  wreath  of  oak  and  laurel,  appeared 
the  imperial  escutcheon,  embroidered  in  gold,  accom- 
panied by  the  hand  of  justice,  the  sceptre  of  Charle- 
magne, the  insignia  of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  and 
surmounted  by  a  helmet  and  a  crown. 

Leaving  the  throne-room,  the  Emperor  passed 
through  the  hall  of  Apollo,  so  called  because  the 
panel  at  the  farther  end  represented  Apollo  sur- 
rounded by  the  Nine  Muses,  and  then  entered  the 
white  salon  (designated  afterwards  as  the  salon  of 
the  First  Consul),  where  the  members  of  his  family, 
the  officers  of  his  household,  the  diplomatic  corps,  the 
ministers,  and  the  great  dignitaries  were  waiting  for 
him.  The  pictures,  the  gildings,  the  cameos  of 
Nicolas  Loyr  had  just  been  restored,  and  fourteen 
Boule  cabinets,  supporting  very  costly  objects  of  art, 
adorned  the  intermediate  spaces.  In  this  salon  of 
Apollo  the  presentations  were  made  and  the  sover- 
eign's cortege  formed.  A  decree  of  January  10 
had  just  regulated  the  rank  of  princes  and  prin- 
cesses related  to  the  Emperor  but  forming  no  part 
of  the  imperial  family ;  the  decree  decided  that  these 
princes  and  princesses  should  take  precedence  im- 
mediately after  the  diplomatic  corps  when  united  in 
a  body,  and  after  the  ambassadors  when  the  diplo- 
matic corps  should  not  be  thus  united.  A  great 
many  foreigners  of  distinction  were  presented  by  the 


THE  FIRST  DATS   OF  1S5S  4G9 

ambassadors  and  heads  of  legations.  Then,  at  half- 
past  nine  o'clock,  an  usher  cried,  "The  Emperor!" 
and  Napoleon  III.  entered  the  hall  of  the  Marshals 
as  the  orchestra  struck  up  the  air  of  Partant  pour 
la  Syrie,  composed  by  Queen  Hortense.  The  Em- 
peror wore  the  uniform  of  a  general  of  division,  with 
white  cashmere  knee-breeches,  silk  stockings,  and 
buckled  shoes.  The  chamberlains  had  scarlet  frock 
coats,  the  equerries  green  ones,  the  masters  of  cere- 
monies violet  with  gold  ornaments,  while  those  of 
the  orderly  officers  were  light  blue,  embroidered  in 
silver,  with  shoulder  knots.  Several  rows  of  benches 
for  women  surrounded  the  hall  of  the  Marshals.  In 
the  middle,  on  a  slightly  raised  platform,  was  a 
large  armchair  for  the  Emperor.  The  chamberlains 
formed  and  maintained  the  circle  reserved  for  dan- 
cing, and  the  ball  opened  with  a  quadrille  of  honor, 
which  Napoleon  III.  danced  with  the  ambassadress 
of  England,  Lady  Cowley.  He  danced  another  qua- 
drille with  Mademoiselle  de  Montijo,  whose  resplen- 
dent beauty  and  extreme  elegance  excited  general 
admiration.  Of  all  the  women  present  she  was  as- 
suredly the  most  beautiful,  but  no  one  suspected 
that  before  the  end  of  the  month  she  would  reign  as 
sovereign  in  this  palace,  where  she  was  still  only  an 
invited  guest. 

It  was  not  Mademoiselle  de  Montijo,  but  the  am- 
bassadress of  England,  whom  the  Emperor  led  to 
supper  in  the  theatre  of  the  chateau,  where  four 
hundred    ladies    took    their    places.      This    theatre, 


470  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

which  adjoined  the  pavilion  of  Marsan  in  the  body 
of  the  building  which  is  now  torn  down,  occupied 
the  whole  width  and  height  of  the  palace.  Built  on 
a  part  of  the  site  of  the  former  machine-room  and 
the  site  of  the  Convention,  its  grandiose  propor- 
tions and  the  richness  of  its  decorations  gave  it  a 
fairy-like  aspect.  Filled  with  flowers,  inundated 
with  lights,  it  was  a  frame  well  adapted  to  bring  out 
such  beauty  as  that  of  Mademoiselle  de  Montijo. 

Everything  shone  in  this  first  ball  of  the  Second 
Empire :  the  prestige  of  a  new  government,  the  re- 
turn to  monarchical  pomps  and  elegance,  the  daz- 
zling toilettes,  the  new  uniforms  all  embroidered 
with  gold  and  silver.  There  was  a  sort  of  apotheosis 
at  the  Tuileries.  Doubtless  no  one  thought  of  the 
dismal  souvenirs  inseparable  from  this  fatal  abode. 
Did  any  one  reflect  that  evening  that  Louis  XVI. 
had  worn  the  bonnet-rouge  in  the  salon  of  Apollo? 
Who  dreamed  then  of  the  20th  of  June  and  the 
10th  of  August,  1792,  of  the  Committee  of  Public 
Safety  sitting  in  the  pavilion  of  Flora,  of  the  tumult- 
uous and  sinister  sessions  of  the  Convention,  of  the 
invasion  of  the  chateau  by  the  populace  in  1830  and 
1848,  of  Louis  Philippe's  throne  broken  in  pieces 
and  then  delivered  to  the  flames?  The  guests  for- 
got the  past,  and  no  one  dreaded  the  future.  With 
what  stupefaction  would  they  not  have  been  struck 
had  some  prophet  of  misfortune  come  to  predict  the 
fate  reserved  for  this  brilliant,  radiant  theatre  where 
they  were  supping  so  gayly  and  pleasantly!     And 


THE  FIRST  DAYS  OF  185S  471 

Mademoiselle  de  Montijo,  how  she  would  have  shud- 
dered could  she  have  foreseen  the  state  in  which  she 
would  find  this  supper-room  in  1870,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  fatal  war !  Then  she  would  install  an 
ambulance  there.  Instead  of  operatic  decorations, 
foliage,  flowers,  rich  vessels,  dazzling  lights,  crowds 
of  courtiers,  the  aspect  and  atmosphere  of  a  hospital, 
the  doctors,  the  surgeons,  the  wounded,  the  dying! 
Instead  of  the  joyous  sounds  of  the  orchestra,  cries 
of  agony  and  the  death  rattle !  Instead  of  women 
loaded  with  jewels,  sisters  of  charity  with  their 
white  cornettes !  During  the  ball  of  January  12, 
1853,  while  all  the  candelabras,  all  the  sconces  of 
the  Tuileries  were  shedding  such  vivid  lights,  who 
could  have  caught  a  glimpse  in  the  future  of  gleams 
more  glowing  still :  the  conflagration  of  1871?  But 
away  with  dismal  forebodings,  and  let  us  return  to 
the  epoch  when  the  young  Empire,  full  of  hope  and 
confidence  in  itself,  fancied  that  it  had  made  a  pact 
with  happiness. 


CHAPTER  XLV 

THE  ANNOUNCEMENT   OF  THE  MARRIAGE 

TDEOPLE  did  not  begin  talking  of  the  Emperor's 
marriage  until  after  the  Tuileries  ball.  Madame 
the  Marquise  de  Contades  (now  Comtesse  de  Beau- 
laincourt)  wrote  to  her  father,  Marshal  Castellane, 
January  16,  1853 :  "  You  must  hear,  even  so  far 
away,  the  echo  of  the  rumors  of  Paris,  where  nothing 
is  talked  of  but  the  marriage  of  the  Emperor  and 
Mademoiselle  de  Montijo.  Eh !  well,  between  our- 
selves, that  might  happen.  The  Emperor  has  con- 
ceived a  very  violent  passion  for  her,  and  he  seems 
to  me  to  take  the  thing  quite  in  earnest.  As  for 
her,  she  conducts  herself  with  reserve  and  dignity. 
From  the  political  point  of  view  this  marriage  seems 
at  first  glance  to  have  inconveniences ;  but  if  it 
does  not  take  place,  it  is  more  than  probable  that 
the  Emperor  will  not  marry  at  all,  seeing  that  his 
repugnance  to  marriage  up  to  now  has  been  but  too 
well  proven,  and  that  certain  old  English  chains, 
which  are  still  very  near,  and  which  are  the  terror 
of  those  who  love  him,  may  restrain  him."  Speak- 
ing of  Mademoiselle  de  Montijo,  the  Marquise  de 
Contades  added:  "This  young  girl  is  pretty,  good, 

472 


THE  ANNOUNCEMENT  OF  TEE  MARRIAGE     473 

and  witty;  and  along  with  this  I  believe  she  has 
much  energy  and  nobility  of  soul.  I  have  been 
watching  her  a  good  deal  of  late  and  I  have  observed 
nothing  but  what  is  good." 

At  the  same  time,  Marshal  Castellane's  other 
daughter,  the  Comtesse  de  Hatzfeld,  wife  of  the 
Prussian  minister  at  Paris,  wrote  to  her  father : 
"They  are  talking  in  the  city  of  the  Emperor's 
marriage  with  Mademoiselle  de  Montijo;  this  news 
needs  confirmation.  If  it  is  true,  he  will  at  least 
have  a  beautiful  wife ;  that  is  something  for  him. 
It  means  preferment  by  choice." 

The  Marshal,  who  was  then  commanding  the  army 
of  Lyons,  responded :  "  For  my  part,  I  am  glad  of  it. 
I  hardly  suspected  when  Madame  her  mother  came 
to  me  at  Perpignan,  July  29,  1834,  leading  her  and 
her  sister  by  the  hand,  for  she  had  two  little  girls 
with  her  and  a  little  boy  named  Paco,  that  she  would 
be  Empress  of  the  French  one  day.  The  Comtesse 
de  Montijo  was  then  fleeing  from  Spain,  and  I  gave 
her  letters  of  recommendation  to  our  relatives  in 
Toulouse.  I  find  her  described  in  my  notes  of  the 
period  as  between  thirty  and  thirty-five  years  old, 
tall,  fine  looking  still,  and  with  a  remarkable  mind. 
Madame  de  Montijo  was  very  kind  when  I  saw  her 
again  in  1849,  with  her  daughter  Eugenie.  In  Made- 
moiselle de  Montijo  the  Emperor  will  have  a  very 
beautiful,  very  intelligent,  and,  I  think,  a  very  good 
wife.  Madame  de  Montijo  will  have  realized  a  fine 
dream." 


474  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

The  rumors  concerning  the  Emperor's  betrothal 
still  encountered  many  unbelievers  until  the  follow- 
ing lines  were  published  in  the  Moniteur  of  Janu- 
ary 19, 1853 :  "  The  bureau  of  the  Senate,  the  bureau 
of  the  Corps  Legislatif,  and  the  members  of  the 
Council  of  State  will  meet  on  Saturday  at  the 
Tuileries  to  receive  a  communication  from  the  Em- 
peror in  relation  to  his  marriage.  The  members  of 
the  Senate  and  the  Corps  Legislatif  may  join  their 
colleagues."  Thenceforward  all  Paris  knew  that  Na- 
poleon III.  was  affianced  to  Mademoiselle  Eugenie 
de  Monti  jo,  Comtesse  de  Teba.  The  news  occasioned 
surprise,  but  in  general  men  of  feeling  received  it 
sympathetically  and  appreciated  the  noble  and  chiv- 
alric  sentiments  which  had  inspired  the  Emperor's 
resolve.  If  there  were  adverse  criticisms,  they  pro- 
ceeded from  statesmen  who  would  have  desired  a 
princess  of  royal  or  imperial  blood  for  Napoleon  III. 
They  came  especially  from  a  small  group  of  coquet- 
tish and  ambitious  women,  who,  jealous  already  of 
the  striking  beauty  of  Mademoiselle  de  Montijo, 
could  not  see  her  elevated  to  the  supreme  rank 
without  a  spiteful  pang.  But  these  murmurs  were 
stifled  by  the  great  voice  of  the  masses,  always 
affected  by  thoughts  springing  from  the  heart;  and 
the  speech  delivered  by  Napoleon  III.  appealed  to 
popular  sensibility.  This  discourse,  at  once  reason- 
able and  sentimental,  full  of  familiar  ideas  and  ro- 
mantic aspirations,  captivated  the  French  nation  and 
found  an  immense  echo  throughout  the  world. 


THE  ANNOUNCEMENT  OF  THE  MARRIAGE     475 

At  noon  on  Saturday,  January  22,  the  three  great 
constituent  bodies  assembled  in  the  throne-room  of 
the  Tuileries  to  listen  to  the  communication  from 
the  sovereign.  Standing  in  front  of  the  throne,  with 
King  JerSme  on  his  right  and  Prince  Napoleon  on 
his  left,  he  read  the  following  discourse  in  a  vibrant 
and  emphatic  voice :  — 

"Gentlemen,  I  comply  with  the  wish  so  often 
manifested  by  the  country,  by  coming  to  announce 
to  you  my  marriage. 

"  The  union  which  I  contract  is  not  in  accord  with 
the  political  traditions  of  ancient  times ;  therein  lies 
its  advantage.     (Sensation.) 

"  France,  by  its  successive  revolutions,  has  been 
rudely  separated  from  the  rest  of  Europe ;  all  judi- 
cious government  should  seek  its  return  to  the  pale  of 
the  ancient  monarchies ;  but  this  result  will  be  much 
more  surely  attained  by  a  frank  and  upright  policy, 
by  loyal  transactions,  than  by  royal  alliances,  which 
create  false  securities  and  often  substitute  family 
interests  for  those  of  the  nation.  Moreover,  the 
examples  of  the  past  have  left  superstitious  beliefs 
in  the  minds  of  the  people ;  they  have  not  forgotten 
that  for  the  last  seventy  years  foreign  princesses 
have  ascended  the  steps  of  the  throne  only  to  see 
their  offspring  scattered  by  war  or  revolution. 
(Profound  sensation.)  One  woman  alone  has  seemed 
to  bring  happiness  and  to  live  longer  than  others  in 
the  people's  memory,  and  this  woman,  the  good  and 
modest  wife  of  General  Bonaparte,  was  not  the  issue 


476  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

of  royal  blood."  This  homage  paid  to  his  grand- 
mother, the  Empress  Josephine,  was  greeted  with 
applause  and  cries  of  "  Long  live  the  Emperor." 

"  Yet  it  must  be  recognized,"  added  Napoleon  III., 
"that  in  1810  the  marriage  of  Napoleon  I.  with 
Marie  Louise  was  a  great  event :  it  was  a  pledge  of 
the  future,  a  real  satisfaction  for  the  national  pride, 
since  people  beheld  the  ancient  and  illustrious  house 
of  Austria,  which  had  so  long  made  war  upon  us, 
seeking  an  alliance  with  the  elected  chief  of  a  new 
empire."  There  was  great  tact  in  this  allusion  to 
the  Empress  Marie  Louise.  Perhaps  that  which  the 
Emperor  made  afterwards  to  the  Princess  Heldne  de 
Mecklenburg-Schwerin,  widow  of  the  Due  d'Orleans, 
was  less  opportune.  "  Under  the  last  reign,  on  the 
contrary,  was  not  the  self-love  of  the  country 
wounded  when  the  heir  of  the  crown  vainly  solicited 
during  many  years  the  alliance  of  a  sovereign  family, 
and  obtained  in  the  end  a  princess  who  was  doubt- 
less accomplished,  but  only  of  secondary  rank  and  of 
a  different  religion?"  Many  persons  thought  that 
Napoleon  III.  would  have  done  better  not  to  mention 
an  unfortunate  princess  who  was  still  living  and 
suffering  from  an  unjust  exile. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  following  passage  was 
greeted  with  enthusiasm :  "  When,  in  face  of  old 
Europe,  one  is  carried  by  the  force  of  a  new  principle 
to  the  height  of  the  ancient  dynasties,  it  is  not  by  at- 
tributing age  to  his  blazon  and  seeking  at  any  cost 
to  introduce  himself  into  the  family  of  kings  that  he 


THE  ANNOUNCEMENT  OF  THE  MARRIAGE     477 

makes  himself  acceptable.  Far  rather  is  it  by  always 
remembering  his  origin,  by  preserving  his  own  char- 
acter, and  frankly  taking  the  position  of  a  new-comer 
in  the  face  of  Europe,  a  glorious  title  when  one  arrives 
by  the  free  suffrages  of  a  great  people.  (Unanimous 
applause.) 

**  Thus,  obliged  to  deviate  from  the  precedents 
followed  up  to  this  day,  my  marriage  was  simply  a 
private  matter.  There  remained  only  the  choice  of 
the  person." 

Here  the  Emperor  expressed  with  emotion  all  his 
affection  for  his  betrothed:  "She  who  has  become 
the  object  of  my  preference  is  of  lofty  birth.  French 
by  education,  by  the  memory  of  the  blood  shed  by 
her  father  for  the  cause  of  the  Empire,  she  has  as  a 
Spaniard  the  advantage  of  having  no  family  in  France 
to  which  honors  and  dignities  must  be  given.  Gifted 
with  all  the  qualities  of  the  soul,  she  will  be  the 
ornament  of  the  throne,  as  in  the  hour  of  danger  she 
would  become  one  of  its  courageous  supporters. 
Catholic  and  pious,  she  will  address  to  Heaven  the 
same  prayers  that  I  do  for  the  welfare  of  France  ; 
gracious  and  good,  she  will,  in  the  same  position, 
I  firmly  hope,  renew  the  virtues  of  the  Empress 
Josephine." 

Happily  for  Napoleon  III.,  the  Empress  Eugenie 
was  much  more  virtuous  than  Josephine.  One  ex- 
cuses a  grandson  for  praising,  possibly  with  exagger- 
ation, a  grandmother  who,  in  spite  of  excellent 
qualities,  did  not  possess  all  the  "  virtues,"  and  the 


478  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

phrase  about  the  first  wife  of  Napoleon  I.  was  re- 
ceived with  applause. 

The  Emperor  terminated  his  discourse  by  these 
really  eloquent  words  :  "  I  come  then,  gentlemen,  to 
say  to  France :  I  have  preferred  a  woman  whom  I 
love  and  respect  to  an  unknown  person,  the  advan- 
tages of  an  alliance  with  whom  would  be  mingled 
with  sacrifices.  Without  showing  disdain  for  any  one, 
I  yield  to  my  inclination,  but  after  consulting  my 
reason  and  my  convictions.  Finally,  in  placing  inde- 
pendence, the  qualities  of  the  heart,  family  happiness, 
above  dynastic  prejudices,  I  shall  not  be  less  strong, 
because  I  shall  be  more  free.  Very  soon,  in  betaking 
myself  to  Notre  Dame,  I  shall  present  the  Empress 
to  the  people  and  the  army ;  the  confidence  they  have 
in  me  will  assure  their  sympathy  for  her  whom  I  have 
chosen,  and  you,  gentlemen,  in  learning  to  know  her, 
will  be  convinced  that  this  time  also  I  have  been 
inspired  by  Providence." 

Seldom  do  words  springing  from  the  heart  fail  to 
move  an  audience.  When  the  Emperor  had  con- 
cluded his  discourse,  it  was  replied  to  by  unanimous 
and  sincere  applause. 

For  several  days  the  approaching  marriage  of  the 
sovereign  was  the  only  theme  of  conversation  in 
Paris.  In  the  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes  M.  de  Mazade 
summed  up  the  general  impression  very  well  in  these 
lines :  "  There  are  events  which  as  soon  as  they 
occur  have  the  singular  privilege  of  eclipsing  all 
others  and  of  creating   diversions  in  political  affairs 


THE  ANNOUNCEMENT  OF  THE  MARRIAGE     479 

even  while  linking  themselves  to  the  general  course 
of  tilings.  People  talk  about  them,  comment  on 
them ;  for  some  days  they  become  the  inexhaustible 
aliment  of  conversation.  Doubtless  this  is  explain- 
able by  their  importance,  and  also  because  on  some 
side  or  other  they  address  themselves  to  the  imagina- 
tion, —  the  imagination  which  has  played  so  great  a 
rQle  in  our  history.  The  Emperor's  marriage  is 
certainly  one  of  these  events.  But  a  few  days  since 
it  was  not  thought  of  at  all.  The  Emperor  has  acted 
as  he  often  does,  surprising  those  who  ought  to  be  or 
might  be  the  most  prescient,  disconcerting  them  per- 
haps as  much  by  the  rapidity  of  his  resolutions  as  by 
the  secrecy  of  his  private  deliberations,  and  suddenly 
lifting,  by  the  mere  fact  of  his  station,  a  private  act 
of  his  own  will  to  the  level  of  a  political  event.  .  .  . 
A  new  path  opens  for  the  brilliant  Spanish  woman, 
linked  at  this  moment  to  the  Empire,  and  is  not 
the  same  path  opened  for  French  society  as  a 
whole?" 

As  soon  as  the  Emperor  had  announced  his  be- 
trothal to  the  great  bodies  of  the  State,  Madame  de 
Montijo  and  her  daughter  quitted  their  apartment 
in  Place  Vend8me  and  installed  themselves  in  the 
Elysee  palace,  where  they  were  to  remain  until 
Sunday,  January  30,  the  date  fixed  for  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  religious  marriage  at  Notre  Dame.  Until 
then  the  Emperor  made  daily  visits  to  the  Elysee, 
where  he  paid  his  court  to  his  betrothed  and  carried 
her  bouquets.      The  historic  souvenirs  attaching  to 


480  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

this  charming  palace  are  not  all  of  good  omen.  It 
was  from  the  Elysee  that  Napoleon  I.  started  for 
Waterloo.  It  was  to  the  Elysee  that  he  returned  to 
sign,  in  cruel  anguish,  his  second  abdication.  It  was 
from  the  Elysee  that  the  Due  de  Berry  went  out, 
February  13,  1820,  to  fall  on  the  threshold  of  the 
Opera  beneath  an  assassin's  poniard.  But  no  one 
was  thinking  now  of  these  sinister  pages  of  history. 
Mademoiselle  de  Montijo  was  especially  remembering 
that  since  1848  the  Elysee  had  brought  good  fortune 
to  her  betrothed,  that  he  was  installed  there  after  his 
election  to  the  presidency  of  the  Republic,  and  that 
there,  overcoming  the  greatest  difficulties,  he  had 
prepared  the  Empire. 

People  read  in  the  Moniteur  of  January  27  :  "  This 
morning,  at  ten  o'clock,  Monseigneur  the  Bishop  of 
Nancy,  first  almoner  to  the  Emperor,  celebrated  Mass 
in  the  Elysee  chapel,  in  the  presence  of  His  Majesty 
and  Her  Excellency  the  Comtesse  de  Teba  (the  official 
name  borne  by  Mademoiselle  de  Montijo  from  the 
announcement  of  her  betrothal  to  the  celebration  of 
her  marriage).'  His  Majesty  and  Her  Excellency 
received  Holy  Communion  from  the  hand  of  His 
Grandeur." 

Napoleon  III.,  in  spite  of  his  youthful  errors,  had 
always  respected  religion  and  believed  the  Christian 
verities.  Like  all  men  who  form  a  marriage  of  in- 
clination, he  was  sincere  in  promising  God  and  him- 
self to  be  always  faithful  to  the  companion  whom 
his  heart  had  chosen.     Convinced  that  the  greatest 


THE  ANNOUNCEMENT  OF  THE  MARUIAQE     481 

happiness  of  life  is  in  love  legitimately  shared,  he 
thanked  Heaven  on  finding  that  his  betrothed  loved 
and  understood  him.  Never  had  he  felt  so  happy  at 
any  period  of  his  existence.  On  her  side,  Mademoi- 
selle de  Montijo,  touched  by  the  affection  she  in- 
spired, joined  herself  from  the  depths  of  her  soul 
to  all  the  sentiments  and  all  the  hopes  of  the  Em- 
peror. Very  devoted  to  the  Catholic  Church,  she 
longed  above  all  things' that  her  husband  should 
merit  the  name  of  "  Most  Christian  Majesty." 

On  the  eve  of  ascending  the  throne,  the  fiancee  had 
a  charitable  inspiration  which  pleased  the  Parisians. 
On  January  28,  at  the  opening  of  the  session  of  the 
Municipal  Council  at  the  HStel  de  Ville,  the  prefect 
of  the  Seine  read  a  letter  addressed  to  him  bj' 
Mademoiselle  de  Montijo  as  soon  as  she  learned 
that  the  Council  had  determined  to  present  her  with 
a  set  of  diamonds.  This  letter  ran  as  follows :  "  Mr. 
Prefect,  I  am  much  affected  on  learning  the  generous 
decision  of  the  Municipal  Council  of  Paris,  which 
thus  displays  its  sympathetic  adhesion  to  the  union 
the  Emperor  is  contracting.  Nevertheless,  I  ex- 
perience a  painful  sentiment  when  I  think  that  the 
first  public  act  attaching  to  my  name  at  the  moment 
of  the  marriage  is  to  be  a  considerable  expense  for 
the  city  of  Paris.  Permit  me  then  not  to  accept 
your  gift,  however  flattering  to  me  ;  you  would  make 
me  happier  by  employing  in  charity  the  sum  you 
have  fixed  upon  for  the  purchase  of  the  ornaments 
the  Municipal  Council  wished  to  offer  me.  I  desire 
2i 


482  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

that  ray  marriage  shall  not  be  the  occasion  of  any- 
new  expense  to  the  country  to  which  I  belong  hence- 
forward, and  the  sole  thing  I  aspire  to  is  to  share 
with  the  Emperor  the  love  and  esteem  of  the  French 
people.  I  beg  you,  Mr.  Prefect,  to  express  all  my 
gratitude  to  the  Council,  and  to  receive  for  your- 
self the  assurance  of  my  distinguished  consideration. 
Eugenie,  Comtesse  de  Teba.  Elysee  Palace,  January 
26, 1853." 

Moved  by  this  simple  and  noble  letter,  the  Munici- 
pal Council  unanimously  agreed  that  in  conformity 
with  the  intentions  of  the  future  sovereign,  the  sum 
of  six  hundred  thousand  francs,  which  had  been 
destined  for  the  purchase  of  a  set  of  jewels,  should 
be  employed  in  founding  an  establishment  where 
poor  young  girls  should  receive  a  professional  edu- 
cation, and  which  they  would  leave  only  when 
provided  with  suitable  positions.  This  establishment 
was  to  bear  the  name  of  the  Empress  and  be  placed 
under  her  protection. 


CHAPTER   XLVI 

THE  CIVIL  MARRIAGE 

r  I  ^HE  civil  marriage  was  celebrated  at  the  Tuileries 
on  Saturday,  January  29, 1853.  At  eight  o'clock 
in  the  evening  the  Due  de  CambacerSs,  grand  master 
of  ceremonies,  went  to  the  Elysee  palace  with  two 
escorted  carriages,  to  seek  the  Emperor's  betrothed 
and  conduct  her  to  the  Tuileries.  The  first  carriage 
was  occupied  by  two  ladies  of  the  palace  and  the 
master  of  ceremonies ;  the  second  received  Made- 
moiselle de  Montijo,  her  mother,  the  Marquis  de 
Valdegamas,  Minister  of  Spain  at  Paris,  and  the  Due 
de  Cambacerds.  The  cortege  entered  the  ch&teau 
by  the  gate  of  the  pavilion  of  Flora.  The  Due 
de  Bassano,  grand  chamberlain,  Marshal  de  Saint- 
Armand,  grand  equerry,  Colonel  Fleury,  first  equerry, 
two  chamberlains,  and  the  orderly  officers  on  duty 
were  awaiting  the  imperial  betrothed  at  the  foot 
of  the  staircase.  At  the  entrance  of  the  first  salon 
she  found  Prince  Napoleon  and  Princess  Mathilde, 
and  all  passed  on  to  the  family  salon.  The  first 
chamberlain  announced  the  arrival  of  his  affianced  to 
the  sovereign.  The  Emperor,  surrounded  by  his 
uncle,  King  Jerdme,  the  members  of  his  family  whom 

483 


484  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 


he  had  designated, — Prince  Lucien  Bonaparte,  Prince 
Pierre  Bonaparte,  Prince  Lucien  Murat,  Princess 
Bacciochi  Camerata,  Princess  Lucien  Murat,  the 
cardinals,  marshals,  admirals,  secretaries  of  state, 
great  officers  of  the  crown,  officers  of  his  civil  and 
military  households,  French  ambassadors  and  minis- 
ters plenipotentiary  on  furlough,  —  appeared  in  the 
uniform  of  a  general  of  division,  with  the  collar  of 
the  Legion  of  Honor  worn  by  Napoleon  I.,  and  the 
collar  of  the  Golden  Fleece  which  had  belonged  to 
the  Emperor  Charles  V.  He  came  forward  to  meet 
the  Comtesse  de  Teba,  and  at  nine  o'clock  the 
cortege  moved  toward  the  hall  of  the  Marshals,  where 
the  civil  marriage  was  to  be  performed. 

At  the  back  of  the  splendidly  lighted  hall,  in  front 
of  the  embrasure  of  the  window  giving  on  the 
garden,  two  precisely  similar  armchairs  had  been 
placed  on  an  estrade,  the  one  on  the  right  for  the 
Emperor,  the  other  for  his  betrothed.  On  the  right 
King  JerSme  and  Prince  Napoleon  took  their  places, 
on  the  left  the  Princesse  Mathilde,  the  Comtesse 
de  Montijo,  the  Spanish  minister,  Prince  Lucien 
Bonaparte,  Prince  Pierre  Bonaparte,  Prince  Lucien 
Murat,  Princess  Bacciochi,  and  Princess  Murat. 
On  the  left  side  of  the  estrade,  and  below  it,  was 
a  table  on  which  lay  the  register  of  the  civil 
condition  of  the  imperial  family,  going  back  to  the 
reign  of  Napoleon  I.  The  first  act  recorded  in  it, 
dated  March  2,  1806,  is  the  adoption  of  Prince 
Eugene  as  son  of  the  Emperor  and  Viceroy  of  Italy. 


THE  CIVIL  MARRIAGE  485 

The  last  act,  immediately  preceding  the  marriage 
act  of  Napoleon  III.,  is  that  of  the  birth  of  the  King 
of  Rome,  dated  March  20,  1811.  M.  Achille  Fould, 
Minister  of  State,  and  of  the  Emperor's  household, 
acting  as  officer  of  the  civil  State,  and  assisted  by 
M.  Baroche,  president  of  the  Council  of  State,  stood 
beside  the  table.  The  first  bench  was  reserved  for 
the  wives  of  the  ministers  and  great  officers  of  the 
crown,  and  the  widows  of  great  dignitaries  of  the 
First  Empire  and  of  marshals  and  admirals  of 
France.  All  the  women  rose  on  the  entry  of  the 
Emperor  and  the  future  Empress,  and  remained 
standing,  as  did  all  the  spectators,  until  the  close  of 
the  ceremony.  The  Due  de  CambacerSs,  having  in- 
vited M.  Achille  Fould  to  present  himself  in  front 
of  the  Emperor's  armchair  with  M.  Baroche,  the 
betrothed  couple  rose,  and  the  following  words  were 
exchanged  between  them  and  the  Minister  of  State :  — 

"  Sire,  does  Your  Majesty  declare  that  he  takes  in 
marriage  Her  Excellency  Mademoiselle  Eugenie  de 
Montijo,  Comtesse  de  Teba,  here  present?" 

"  I  declare  that  I  take  in  marriage  Her  Excellency 
Mademoiselle  Eugenie  de  Montijo,  Comtesse  de  Teba, 
here  present." 

"Mademoiselle  Eugenie  de  Montijo,  Comtesse  de 
Teba,  does  Your  Excellency  declare  that  she  takes 
in  marriage  His  Majesty  the  Emperor  Napoleon  III., 
here  present  ?  " 

"  I  declare  that  I  take  in  marriage  His  Majesty 
the  Emperor  Napoleon,  here  present." 


486  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

The  Minister  of  State  then  pronounced  the  mar- 
riage in  these  terms  :  "  In  the  name  of  the  Emperor, 
of  the  Constitution  and  of  the  Law,  I  declare  that 
His  Majesty  Napoleon  III.,  Emperor  of  the  French 
by  the  grace  of  God  and  the  national  will,  and  Her 
Excellency  Mademoiselle  Eugenie  de  Montijo,  Com- 
tesse  de  Teba,  are  united  in  marriage." 

After  these  words  had  been  pronounced,  the  masters 
and  aids  of  ceremonies  took  up  the  table  on  which 
lay  the  civil  register,  and  placed  it  in  front  of  the 
armchairs  of  the  Emperor  and  Empress.  Then  they 
proceeded  to  the  signing  of  the  act,  the  preamble 
of  which  was  thus  worded:  "We,  Achille  Fould, 
Minister  of  State  and  of  the  Emperor's  household, 
and  Pierre-Jules  Baroche,  president  of  the  Council 
of  State,  notified  by  the  grand  master  of  ceremonies, 
have  presented  ourselves  before  the  Throne,  with 
intent  to  proceed,  in  virtue  of  the  sealed  letter 
herein  below  transcribed,  to  the  ceremony  of  mar- 
riage between  the  Emperor  Napoleon  III.,  born  in 
Paris,  April  20,  1808,  and  Her  Excellency  Marie- 
Eugenie  Guzman  y  Palafox  Fernandez  de  Cor- 
dova, Leyva  y  la  Cerda,  Comtesse  de  Teba,  de 
Banos,  de  Mora,  de  Santa-Cruz,  de  la  Sierra,  Mar- 
quise de  Moya  de  Ardalles  de  Osera,  Vicomtesse 
de  la  Calzada,  etc.,  grandee  of  Spain  of  the  first 
class,  born  in  Grenada,  May  5,  1826,  daughter  of 
His  Excellency  Cipriano  Porto-Carrero  y  Palafox, 
Comte  de  Montijo,  Due  de  Penaranda,  Marquis  de 
Valderravano,  Vicomte  de  Palacios  de  la  Valduerna, 


THE  CIVIL  MARRIAGE  487 

Baron  de  Quinto,  etc.,  grand  marshal  of  Castile, 
grandee  of  Spain  of  the  first  class,  chevalier  of  the 
order  of  Saint  John  of  Jerusalem  and  of  the  Legion 
of  Honor,  who  died  at  Madrid,  March  15,  1839,  and 
of  the  Comtesse  de  Montijo  and  de  Miranda,  Duchesse 
de  Penaranda,  grandee  of  Spain  of  the  first  class, 
honorary  grand  mistress  of  Her  Majesty  the  Queen 
of  the  Spains,  dame  of  the  order  of  the  noble  dames 
of  Mademoiselle  Louise  and  dame  of  the  Society  of 
Honor  and  Merit,  Her  Excellency  Eugenie  Guzman, 
Comtesse  de  Teba,  being  authorized  by  Her  Excel- 
lency the  Comtesse  de  Montijo,  her  mother,  and  as- 
sisted by  His  Excellency  the  Marquis  de  Valdegamas, 
envoy  extraordinary  and  minister  plenipotentiary  of 
Her  Majesty  Isabella  II.,  Queen  of  the  Spains." 

On  the  request  of  the  grand  master  of  ceremonies, 
the  president  of  the  Council  of  State  presented  the 
pen  to  the  Emperor,  and  then  to  the  Empress. 
Their  Majesties  signed  it  sitting,  without  leaving 
their  places.  The  Comtesse  de  Montijo,  the  princes 
and  princesses,  the  Spanish  minister,  afterwards 
received  the  pen  from  the  hands  of  the  president 
of  the  Council  of  State,  and  approaching  the  table 
signed  according  to  their  rank.  Then  the  other 
persons  designated  by  the  Emperor  affixed  their 
signatures,  and,  the  act  being  terminated,  the  Due 
de  Cambac6r£s  announced  to  Their  Majesties  the 
close  of  the  ceremony.  The  spectators,  to  whom 
were  added  a  large  number  of  invited  guests,  then 
repaired   to   the    Palace  Theatre.     A  few  moments 


488  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

later  Their  Majesties,  accompanied  by  the  princes 
and  princesses,  ministers,  foreign  ambassadors,  and 
great  officers  of  the  crown,  made  their  entry  into 
this  hall,  where,  in  their  presence,  a  cantata  was 
sung  for  which  Auber  had  composed  the  music. 

The  Empress  was  afterwards  reconducted  to  the 
Elyse*e  with  the  same  ceremonial  observed  for  her 
arrival  at  the  Tuileries.  Thenceforward  she  was 
to  be  treated  as  a  sovereign.  The  Moniteur  of  Janu- 
ary 26  had  already  made  known  the  formation  of 
her  household,  which  was  composed  as  follows : 
grand  mistress,  the  Princesse  d'Essling;  lady  of 
honor,  the  Duchesse  de  Bassano ;  ladies  of  the  pal- 
ace, the  Comtesse  Gustavo  de  Montebello,  Madame 
Feray,  the  Vicomtesse  de  Lezay-Marnesia,  the  Ba- 
ronne  de  Pierres,  the  Baronne  de  Malaret;  grand 
master,  General  Comte  Tascher  de  la  Pagerie  ;  cham- 
berlain, the  Vicomte  de  Lezay-Marnesia;  equerry, 
the  Baron  de  Pierres. 

The  religious  marriage,  which  was  to  be  celebrated 
at  Notre  Dame  the  day  after  the  civil  marriage,  was 
to  be  one  of  those  solemnities  with  which  the  whole 
world  concerns  itself.  Since  the  betrothal  of  the  Em- 
peror had  been  known,  all  the  journals  of  Europe  were 
full  of  comments  on  the  resolution  he  had  taken. 

We  will  cite  some  extracts  from  journals  pub- 
lished in  two  countries,  to  whose  opinion  Napoleon 
III.  attached  special  importance,  —  England  and 
Spain :  — 

The  Standard:  "The    Emperor  Napoleon   has  at 


THE  CIVIL  M  ARE  I  AGE  489 

last  concluded  to  marry.  His  Majesty  being  now  at 
the  mature  age  of  forty-five,  no  one  can  say  that  his 
marriage  is  hastily  undertaken;  and  his  betrothed 
being  young,  beautiful,  amiable,  and  of  spotless  repu- 
tation, such  a  union  cannot  be  described  as  impru- 
dent. .  .  .  We  think  the  conduct  of  the  Emperor 
of  the  French  a  good  one  to  imitate.  We  think 
that  in  taking  a  wife  whom  he  loves  for  herself,  he 
has  obtained  guaranties  of  happiness,  and  that  it  is 
the  best  example  he  could  give  to  the  people  who 
have  chosen  him  as  their  chief." 

The  Morning  Post :  "  Napoleon  is  inspired  by  love, 
and  for  almost  the  first  time  since  less  civilized 
periods,  we  see  a  potentate  elevate  to  the  throne  a 
woman  not  of  royal  blood.  Romance  has  carried 
the  daj-  against  policy.  .  .  .  There  is  a  tinge  of 
independence  in  this  which  cannot  fail  to  please  the 
French  nation.  For  ourselves,  we  are  glad  of  it. 
Experience  has  thus  far  proved  that  Napoleon  has 
followed  nothing  but  his  own  impulsion,  and  we 
think  he  will  persist  in  that  line.  The  marriage 
will  give  the  nation  new  hopes  ;  it  will  create  a  new 
tie  between  the  Emperor  and  his  people ;  it  will  add 
a  new  consideration  to  his  court." 

The  Globe :  "  We  think  the  Emperor's  marriage 
appeals  more  favorably  to  public  opinion  in  England 
than  any  event  of  his  career." 

The  Times:  "We  shall  speak  of  the  future 
Empress  of  the  French  with  all  the  deference  due 
to  her,  for  it  is  impossible  to   have   remarked   the 


490  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

attractions  of  her  person,  the  distinction  of  her 
manners,  and  the  vivacity  of  her  mind  (as  many  of 
us  have  been  able  to  do  in  her  visits  to  England), 
without  taking  a  more  than  ordinary  interest  in  her 
extraordinary  destiny.  .  .  .  By  birth  she  combines 
the  energy  of  the  Spanish  and  Scottish  races,  and  if 
our  opinion  of  her  is  correct,  she  is  made  not  merely 
to  adorn  the  throne,  but  to  defend  it  in  the  hour  of 
danger." 

The  Morning  Herald:  "Napoleon  III.  has  appealed 
to  honest  hearts  and  the  universal  conscience.  His 
people  will  not  leave  him  because  they  see  at  his 
side  a  beautiful,  gracious,  and  courageous  Empress, 
whom  he  marries  for  reasons  which  all  men  respect 
at  the  bottom  of  their  hearts." 

•  The  same  note  is  struck  in  the  majority  of  the 
European  journals.  The  imagination  of  the  public 
was  impressed,  and  as  Napoleon  I.  had  said :  "  It  is 
imagination  which  governs  the  world. " 

The  Spanish  journals  manifested  a  satisfaction 
blended  with  a  sentiment  of  patriotism.  In  the 
Heraldo  of  Madrid,  of  January  25,  one  reads : 
"The  French  mail  brings  us  very  important  news. 
.  .  .  She  who  is  about  to  assume  the  crown  as 
Empress  is  one  of  the  most  distinguished  women  of 
Madrilene  society:  the  Comtesse  de  Teba,  daughter 
of  the  Comtesse  de  Montijo,  and  sister  of  the 
Duchesse  d'Albe,  she  is  as  remarkable  for  beauty 
as  for  wit,  and  has  been  known  by  all  Madrid  since 
her  childhood." 


THE  CIVIL  MARRIAGE  491 

The  Uspafl2,  of  January  26,  thus  expressed  itself : 
"  It  is  a  Spanish  woman  who  is  going  to  impart  to 
the  throne  of  a  great  nation  the  lustre  of  her  grace. 
The  Comtesse  de  Teba,  who  charmed  us  by  her 
affability,  and  was  the  ornament  of  our  reunions,  is 
about  to  assume  the  purple  of  the  Caesars,  and  share 
the  destiny  of  him  who  is  at  once  the  heir  of  the  man 
of  the  century  and  the  conqueror  of  anarchy.  It  is 
our  sympathetic  compatriot  who  is  chosen  to  reign 
on  the  social  heights  of  a  great  people.  It  is  the 
bright  and  witty  Spanish  woman  who  is  to  preside 
over  the  development  of  the  sciences,  arts,  industries, 
and  civilization  in  France.  At  this  moment  we  envy 
Spaniards  who  reside  in  Paris ;  we  doubt  not  that 
on  seeing  our  fair  compatriot  amid  the  solemn  pomps 
of  the  august  ceremony,  they  will  be  proud,  finding 
her  worthy  of  the  majesty  of  the  throne.  .  .  .  The 
lustre  of  a  throne,  however  brilliant,  will  not  eclipse 
the  lustre  of  Marie-Eugenie's  eyes,  and  the  fortune 
which  is  crowning  her  with  its  gifts  will  not  alter 
the  noble  serenity  of  her  heart.  For  the  glory  of 
our  country,  we  express  the  wish,  and  have  the  firm 
expectation,  that  the  former  pearl  of  Castilian  aris- 
tocracy will  be  the  best  of  Frenchwomen." 

All  nations  sent  the  new  Empress  the  homage  of 
their  sympathy  and  admiration.  No  woman,  for 
many  years,  had  attracted  general  attention  to  so 
great  a  degree,  and  never  had  beauty  won  so  great 
a  triumph. 


CHAPTER   XLVII 

THE  MARRIAGE  AT  NOTRE  DAME 

/~"\N  Sunday,  January  30,  1853,  all  Paris  is  en  fete. 
^^  A  clear  sky,  a  spring-like  temperature,  favor 
the  ceremony  in  preparation.  An  innumerable  pop- 
ulation is  thronging  to  every  point  which  the 
imperial  procession  is  to  pass:  the  Carrousel,  the 
court  of  the  Louvre,  the  rue  de  Rivoli,  the  Place 
de  l'HQtel  de  Ville,  the  quai  Gesvres,  the  bridge  of 
Notre  Dame,  the  quai  Napole'on,  the  rue  d'Arcole, 
the  space  in  front  of  the  cathedral.  Two  squadrons 
of  guides  are  drawn  up  in  battle  array  in  the  court 
of  the  Tuileries.  On  the  Place  du  Carrousel  appear 
in  serried  columns  a  brigade  of  cuirassiers,  a  brigade 
of  carbineers,  a  squadron  of  the  gendarmerie  of  the 
Seine.  The  national  guard  and  the  army  form  a 
double  line  from  the  palace  of  the  Tuileries  to  Notre 
Dame.  Bodies  of  working  men  from  Paris  and  its 
outskirts,  deputations  of  young  girls  dressed  in 
white,  old  soldiers  of  the  First  Empire,  are  grouped 
already  along  the  line  of  the  procession.  The  Place 
du  Louvre,  the  rue  de  Rivoli,  the  H6tel  de  Ville, 
the  wharves,  are  decked  with  masts,  pennants, 
panoplies,  and  escutcheons  bearing  the  monogram 
of  the  Emperor  and  Empress. 

492 


THE  MARRIAGE  AT  NOTRE  DAME  493 

It  is  half-past  eleven  o'clock.  Two  court  carriages, 
escorted  by  a  picket  of  cavalry,  go  to  seek  the  bride 
and  conduct  her  from  the  Elysee  to  the  Tuileries. 
In  one  of  them  are  seated  the  Princesse  d'Essling, 
grand  mistress  of  her  household,  the  Duchesse  de  Bas- 
sano,  her  lady  of  honor,  the  Comte  Charles  Tascher 
de  la  Pagerie,  her  first  chamberlain  ;  in  the  other  the 
Empress,  the  Comtesse  de  Montijo,  and  the  General 
Comte  Tascher  de  la  Pagerie,  grand  master  of  Her 
Majesty's  household.  Her  equerry,  Baron  de  Pierres, 
rides  on  horseback  beside  her  carriage. 

At  noon  the  cannon  of  the  Invalides  thunder 
joyous  salvos,  the  clarions  sound,  the  drums  beat  a 
salute.  It  is  the  moment  when  the  sovereign  arrives 
at  the  Tuileries  by  the  gate  of  the  pavilion  of  Flora. 
She  alights  from  the  carriage  in  front  of  the  pavilion 
of  the  Horloge,  on  whose  threshold  she  finds  the  grand 
chamberlain,  the  grand  equerry,  the  first  equerry,  four 
chamberlains,  and  the  orderly  officers  on  duty.  Prince 
Napoleon  and  Princess  Mathilde  are  awaiting  her  at 
the  foot  of  the  grand  staircase.  She  ascends  its  steps 
and  crosses  the  gallery  of  Peace,  the  hall  of  the  Mar- 
shals, the  white  salon,  the  salon  of  Apollo,  the  throne- 
room.  Accompanied  by  King  Jer6me,  the  ministers, 
marshals,  and  admirals,  the  grand  marshal  of  the 
palace  and  the  grand  master  of  the  hounds,  Napo- 
leon III.  advances  beyond  the  salon  of  the  Emperor 
to  meet  the  Empress,  leads  her  into  this  salon,  and 
giving  her  his  hand,  appears  on  the  balcony  with  her. 
Both  are  received  with  immense  applause. 


494  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

Carriages  are  ranging  in  line  before  the  pavilion  of 
the  Horloge.  Now  the  procession  begins  its  march. 
It  is  preceded  by  the  band  of  the  7th  lancers,  the 
staff  of  the  national  guard,  the  mounted  national 
guard,  a  squadron  of  the  7th  lancers,  the  staff  of  the 
army  of  Paris  and  of  the  first  military  division,  the 
staff  of  the  place  of  Paris,  a  mounted  platoon  from 
the  staff  school,  the  7th  lancers,  the  band  of  the  12th 
dragoons.  Next  come  the  two-horse  carriages  :  those 
of  the  household  of  the  Princesse  Mathilde,  the 
Empress's  ladies  of  the  palace,  her  first  chamberlain, 
the  officers  of  the  Emperor's  civil  household,  the  sec- 
retaries of  state.  Then  three  carriages  drawn  by  six 
horses :  that  containing  the  grand  marshal  of  the 
palace,  the  grand  chamberlain,  the  grand  master  of 
ceremonies,  the  grand  master  of  the  Emperor's  house- 
hold, and  the  lady  of  honor ;  that  of  the  Princesse 
Mathilde  and  the  Comtesse  de  Montijo ;  that  of  King 
Jerdme  and  Prince  Napoleon  (which  is  the  coach 
used  in  1811  for  the  baptism  of  the  King  of  Rome). 

Now  comes,  preceded  by  a  squadron  of  guides  and 
the  general  officers  not  provided  with  commands, 
all  on  horseback,  in  white  pantaloons  and  military 
boots,  the  eight-horse  carriage ;  that  of  the  Emperor 
and  the  Empress.  It  is  the  magnificently  gilded 
coach,  surmounted  by  an  imperial  crown,  which,  on 
December  2,  1804,  conveyed  Napoleon  and  Josephine 
to  Notre  Dame  for  the  ceremony  of  the  coronation. 
The  marshal  of  France,  grand  equerry,  and  the  gen- 
eral commandant  superior  of  the  national  guard  of 


TUE  MARRIAGE  AT  NOTRE  DAME  495 

Paris  ride  on  the  right-hand  side  of  the  carriage ;  the 
marshal  of  France,  grand  master  of  the  hounds,  on 
the  left.  The  Emperor's  aides-de-camp,  equerries,  and 
orderly  officers  escort  the  carriage,  the  aides-de-camp 
on  a  line  with  the  horses,  the  equerries  on  a  line 
with  the  hind  wheels,  the  orderly  officers  behind. 

The  procession  had  just  begun  to  move  when  an 
accident  occurred  which  might  be  considered  an 
unlucky  omen.  General  Fleury  gives  this  account 
of  it  in  his  Memoirs :  "  At  the  moment  when  the 
carriage  which  conveyed  Their  Majesties  left  the 
arch  of  the  Tuileries,  the  imperial  crown  that  sur- 
mounted it  became  detached  and  fell  to  the  ground. 
It  was  necessary  to  replace  it  as  quickly  as  possible  and 
to  suspend  the  march.  This  could  not  be  done  with- 
out creating  a  certain  sensation.  An  old  servitor  of 
the  First  Empire  pointed  out  that  the  same  thing  had 
occurred  under  precisely  the  same  conditions  at  the 
time  of  the  marriage  of  Napoleon  I.  and  Marie  Louise. 
It  was  the  same  carriage,  surmounted  by  the  same 
imperial  crown,  and  it  was  the  same  accident. 
Napoleon  III.  inquired  the  reason  of  this  delay. 
When  I  explained  it  to  him,  his  impassive  counte- 
nance betrayed,  as  usual,  no  emotion.  But  in  any 
other  circumstance,  he,  who  knew  the  history  of 
the  Empire  as  if  he  had  been  part  of  it,  would  not 
have  failed  to  tell  me  what  happened  at  the  time  of 
the  marriage  of  Napoleon  I." 

To  come  back  to  the  ceremony  of  January  30, 
1853.     After  the  imperial  carriage  came  a  squadron 


496  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

of  guides,  the  6th  and  7th  cuirassiers,  the  1st  and 
2d  carbineers,  a  squadron  of  the  gendarmerie  of 
the  Seine,  and  a  squadron  of  the  municipal  guard. 

Mingled  with  the  crowd  in  the  court  of  the 
Louvre,  I  saw  the  procession  pass.  Seen  through 
the  windows  of  the  glittering  carriage,  the  Empress 
appeared  an  ideal  being.  Her  pallor  enhanced  her 
sculpturesque  profile.  I  shall  never  forget  the  im- 
pression produced  on  me  by  this  sweet  and  radiant 
image.  A  nameless  presentiment  told  me  that  like 
all  incomparably  beautiful  women,  like  Cleopatra, 
like  Mary  Stuart,  like  Marie  Antoinette,  this  admira- 
ble sovereign  was  destined  to  calamities  as  excep- 
tional as  her  fortune  and  her  beauty.  I  asked  God 
to  bless  the  Empress,  to  remove  the  chalice  of  bitter- 
ness from  her  lips,  and  not  to  make  her  some  day 
expiate  immense  joys  by  immense  sorrows. 

The  dazzling  vision  had  gone  by.  The  procession 
was  pursuing  its  route  amid  acclamations.  It  passed 
through  the  rue  de  Rivoli,  which  had  just  been 
finished  and  resembled  a  triumphal  road.  Women 
waved  their  handkerchiefs  and  scattered  flowers; 
the  soldiers  and  the  national  guard  presented  arms. 
There  was  an  ovation  at  the  Place  de  l'H6tel  de 
Ville.  At  one  o'clock  the  sounding  of  trumpets 
and  the  acclamations  of  the  people  announced  that 
the  cortege  had  just  arrived  at  Notre  Dame. 

In  front  of  the  portal  a  gothic  porch  had  been 
erected,  the  panels  of  which  represented  the  saints 
and  kings  of   France.     The   two  principal  pilasters 


THE  MARRIAGE  AT  NOTRE  DAME  497 

upheld  equestrian  statues  of  Charlemagne  and  Napo- 
leon. Nine  green  banners,  sown  with  bees,  with  the 
monogram  of  the  Emperor  and  Empress,  floated 
above  the  great  windows  and  the  rose  window  in 
the  middle.  The  flags  of  eighty-six  departments 
overhung  the  balustrade  of  the  great  gallery.  Four 
eagles  and  two  tricolored  banners  looked  clown  from 
the  summit  of  the  towel's.  The  Archbishop  of  Paris, 
with  mitre  and  crosier,  preceded  and  followed  by 
his  clergy,  had  moved  processionally  beneath  the 
portal.  The  great  door  opened,  and  the  Emperor, 
giving  his  hand  to  the  Empress,  made  his  entry  into 
the  cathedral  under  a  dais  of  red  velvet  lined  with 
white  satin,  an  orchestra  of  five  hundred  musicians 
executing  a  nuptial  march  meanwhile.  In  crossing 
the  threshold  of  the  ancient  basilica  where  so  many 
generations  had  kneeled,  the  Empress  turned  pale. 
The  dazzling  perspective  of  the  cathedral,  lighted 
by  fifteen  thousand  candles,  with  its  pillars  hung  to 
their  capitals  with  red  velvet  bordered  with  golden 
palms,  seemed  to  her  a  mystical,  supernatural  appa- 
rition. Advancing  as  in  a  celestial  dream,  with 
her  trained  robe  of  white  satin,  her  cincture  of  dia- 
monds, her  diadem  wreathed  with  orange  blossoms 
from  which  fell  a  lace  veil  which  enveloped  her 
like  a  cloud  and  fell  to  the  very  ground,  the  gentle 
and  majestic  sovereign  experienced  an  emotion  which 
communicated  itself  to  all  the  spectators.  There 
was  something  so  tender  and  so  frightened  in  her 
glance.     Timid,  and  as  if  doubtful  of  herself,  modest 


498  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

and  seeming  all  astonished  at  her  triumph,  she  ap- 
peared to  be  asking  envy  and  hatred  to  spare  her. 
She  was  imploring  the  affection  of  her  new  country. 
She  was  like  an  august  suppliant. 

Two  seats  had  been  placed  in  the  middle  of  the 
transept,  one  for  the  Emperor,  the  other  for  the 
Empress.  The  imperial  arms  were  embroidered  on 
the  backs  of  the  armchairs,  the  kneeling-benches, 
and  the  cushions.  Above  the  platform  rose  a  mag- 
nificent canopy,  sown  with  bees,  and  surmounted  by 
a  gilt  eagle  with  outstretched  wings.  At  the  foot  of 
the  platform,  on  the  right,  chairs  had  been  reserved 
for  Prince  Jerdme,  Prince  Napoleon,  and  the  Princesse 
Mathilde.  Prince  Lucien  Bonaparte,  Prince  Pierre 
Bonaparte,  Prince  Lucien  Murat,  the  Princesse  Bac- 
ciochi  Camerata,  the  Princesse  Lucien  Murat,  and  the 
Comtesse  de  Montijo  occupied  faldstools  on  the  left. 
The  ministers  were  placed  on  the  right  of  the  transept 
in  front  of  the  tribune  of  the  Senate.  On  the  left  side 
of  the  altar  sat  the  cardinals,  archbishops,  bishops, 
and  members  of  the  metropolitan  chapter.  The  hus- 
band and  wife  sat  down  on  the  two  armchairs.  The 
grand  mistress  of  the  Empress's  household,  her  lady 
of  honor,  and  her  ladies  of  the  palace  took  their 
places  on  a  bench  behind  her.  The  great  officers 
and  the  officers  of  the  Emperor's  household  remained 
standing,  as  did  the  grand  master  of  the  Empress's 
household,  her  first  chamberlain,  and  her  equerry. 

The  emotion  of  the  Empress  constantly  increased. 
General  Tascher  de  la  Pagerie,  who  was  behind  her 


THE  MARRIAGE  AT  NOTRE  DAME  499 

throughout  the  ceremony,  thought  several  times  that 
she  was  going  to  faint,  and  heard  the  Emperor  trying 
to  strengthen  her  with  tender  words. 

Notified  by  the  Due  de  Cambacer&s,  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Paris  bowed  to  Their  Majesties,  who  went 
forward  to  the  foot  of  the  altar  and  stood  there, 
holding  each  other  by  the  hand.  "  You  present 
yourselves  here,"  the  archbishop  said  to  them,  "  to 
contract  marriage  in  the  presence  of  Holy  Church?" 
They  replied,  M  Yes,  sir."  The  first  almoner  of  the 
Emperor  then  presented  on  a  silver-gilt  plate  the 
gold  pieces  and  the  nuptial  ring  to  the  archbishop, 
who  blessed  them,  and  the  following  words  were  ex- 
changed between  the  prelate  and  the  married  pair:  — 

"Sire,  you  declare,  you  recognize  before  God  and 
His  Holy  Church  that  you  now  take  for  wife  and 
legitimate  spouse  Madame  Eugenie  de  Montijo, 
Comtesse  de  Teba,  here  present?" 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"You  promise  to  observe  fidelity  to  her  in  all 
things,  as  a  faithful  husband  should  to  his  wife  ?  " 

"Yes,  sir." 

"Madame,  you  declare,  you  recognize  and  swear 
before  God  and  His  Holy  Church  that  you  now  take 
for  your  husband  and  legitimate  spouse  the  Emperor 
Napoleon  III.,  here  present?" 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  You  promise  and  swear  to  observe  fidelity  to  him 
in  all  things,  as  a  faithful  wife  should  to  her  husband, 
according  to  the  commandment  of  God?" 


500  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

«  Yes,  sir." 

The  archbishop  then  presented  the  gold  pieces 
and  the  ring  to  the  Emperor,  who  first  gave  the 
pieces  to  the  Empress,  saying,  "  Receive  the  sign  of 
the  matrimonial  conventions  made  between  you  and 
me ; "  then,  placing  the  ring  on  her  finger,  he  said, 
'*  I  give  you  this  ring  in  token  of  the  marriage  we 
are  contracting." 

Then  the  spouses  kneeled  down,  and  the  arch- 
bishop, extending  his  hand  over  them,  pronounced 
the  sacramental  formula  and  the  prayer:  God  of 
Abraham,  God  of  Isaac.  They  afterwards  returned 
to  their  armchairs  and  the  Mass  began.  The  Credo 
chanted  was  that  of  Cherubini's  Coronation  Mass. 
The  wax  candles  of  the  offertory  were  presented  to 
the  Emperor  by  Prince  Napoleon  and  to  the  Empress 
by  the  Princesse  Mathilde.  The  musicians  executed 
the  Sanctus  of  Adolphe  Adam's  Mass,  the  0  Salu- 
taris  of  Cherubini's  and  the  Domine  Salvum  fac 
Imperatorem  instrumented  by  Auber.  The  Mass 
being  ended,  Lesueur's  Te  Deum  was  chanted.  At 
this  moment,  the  archbishop,  accompanied  by  the  cure 
of  Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois,  the  parish  church  of 
the  Tuileries,  approached  the  married  pair  and  pre- 
sented the  register  on  which  was  •written  the  act 
of  the  religious  marriage,  for  their  signatures.  The 
witnesses  for  the  Emperor  were  Prince  Jerdme  and 
Prince  Napoleon,  and  for  the  Empress,  the  Marquis 
de  Valdegamas,  Minister  of  Her  Catholic  Majesty  at 
Paris,  the  Due  d'Ossuna,  and  the  Marquis  de  Bed- 


THE  MARRIAGE  AT  NOTRE  DAME  501 

mar,  grandees  of  Spain,  the  Comte  de  Galve,  and 
General  Alvarez  Toledo. 

The  religious  ceremony  was  ended.  Old  people 
who  had  been  present  since  the  beginning  of  the 
century  at  the  great  solemnities  of  Notre  Dame,  said 
that  neither  the  Empress  Josephine  on  the  day  of 
her  coronation  nor  the  Duchesse  de  Berry  on  the  day 
her  marriage  had  had  an  Sclat  comparable  to  that  of 
the  Empress  Eugenie. 

The  archbishop  and  his  metropolitan  chapter  re- 
conducted the  spouses  to  the  portal  of  the  cathedral, 
five  hundred  musicians  executing,  meanwhile,  the 
Urbs  Beata  of  Lesueur.  The  procession  reformed 
on  the  parvis  of  Notre  Dame,  and  the  return  to  the 
Tuileries  was  effected  amidst  cordial  acclamations. 

The  route  followed  was  the  rue  d'Arcole,  the  quai 
Napoleon,  the  quai  aux  Fleurs,  the  Pont  ail  Change, 
the  quays  on  the  right  bank,  the  Place  de  la  Con- 
corde, the  garden  of  the  Tuileries,  where  the  mar- 
ried pair  found  corporations  of  working  men  and 
deputations  of  young  girls  in  white,  with  banners 
at  their  head,  who  offered  them  flowers.  They  re- 
entered the  chateau  by  the  pavilion  of  the  Horloge. 
Then  they  made  a  turn  in  a  carriage  round  the  Place 
du  Carrousel,  where  the  troops  were  massed,  and  were 
received  with  unanimous  vivata.  Then  they  ascended 
the  grand  staircase,  went  to  the  hall  of  the  Marshals, 
and  showed  themselves  successively  on  the  two  bal- 
conies, the  one  giving  on  the  court,  the  other  on  the 
garden.     Those  who  then  saw  the  Empress  saluting 


502  LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

the  crowd  will  never  forget  what  elegance  and  affa- 
bility, what  grace  and  majesty,  were  in  that  salute. 
In  casting  a  long  look  of  exquisite  and  penetrat- 
ing sweetness  upon  the  surging  crowd,  and  bowing 
in  a  manner  at  once  so  imposing  and  so  modest, 
the  new  sovereign  seemed  to  be  saying  to  the  army 
and  the  people,  "  Love  me  and  protect  me."  So 
terminated  this  day  of  triumph  and  of  apotheosis  of 
which  the  Empress  Eugenie  was  reminded  in  the 
hour  when  she  quitted  the  chateau  of  the  Tuileries 
forever. 


INDEX 


Abd-el-Kader,  received  by  Louis 
Napoleon  at  Saint-Cloud,  401- 
410. 

Aladenize,  Lieutenant,  in  the  Bou- 
logne expedition,  220,  227 ;  de- 
fended by  Jules  Favre,  244,  245 ; 
sentenced  to  transportation,  245. 

Alexander,  Emperor,  the  courtier 
of  Empress  Josephine,  31 ;  and 
Queen  Hortense,  32-34 ;  at  Saint- 
Leu,  33. 

Ancona,  Queen  Hortense  at,  107- 
110;  Austrians  enter,  109. 

Andromeda,  the,  Louis  Napoleon's 
voyage  to  the  United  States  in, 
161-169. 

Antoine,  Prince,  father  of  the  King 
of  Roumania,  56. 

Arenenberg,  the  chateau  of,  Queen 
Hortense  purchases,  58,  51);  de- 
scription of,  128,  129;  sold  by 
Louis  Napoleon,  218. 

Assembly,  National,  the,  elections 
in,  313 :  cheers  the  Republic,  313 ; 
Louis  Napoleon's  letter  to,  314; 
abrogates  the  banishment  of  the 
Bonaparte  family,  315;  supple- 
mentary elections  in,  315;  Loads 
Napoleon's  election  to,  315-318; 
decides  mode  of  electing  the 
president  of  the  Republic,  321, 
322;  the  presidential  election  in, 
323-330;  the  Constituent  is  re- 
placed by  the  Legislative  Assem- 
bly, 339;  the  Roman  question 
in,  340,  341;  the  suffrage  law 
adopted,  348  ;  the  change  in, 
SKI :  weakened  by  divisions,  300- 
363. 


Aumale,  the  Due  d',  his  interest 
in  Eugenie  de  Moutijo,  427,  428. 

Barrot,  Odilon,  his  interest  in  so- 
curing  release  of  Louis  Napo- 
leon, 280-288;  in  Louis  Napo- 
leon's cabinet,  333;  not  in  accord 
with  Louis  Napoleon,  34"),  346; 
refused  honors  conferred  on  him 
by  Louis  Napoleon,  347:  his 
words  on  the  suffrage  law,  348. 

Beuuharnais,  Eugene  de,  suspected 
of  assisting  in  the  return  of  Na- 
poleon from  Elba,  43,  41;  visits 
and  is  visited  by  his  sister  Hor- 
tense in  exile,  55, 56 ;  his  children, 
56 ;  his  death,  67. 

Beauharnais,  Hortense  de,  the 
mother  of  Napoleon  III.,  15;  un- 
happy in  marriage,  16;  her  life 
in  Paris,  22, 23;  a  true  patriot, 25; 
her  words  to  Marie  Louise  con- 
cerning the  latter's  leaving  Paris, 
26 ;  leaves  Paris,  27 ;  her  condi- 
tion after  the  Emperor's  abdica- 
tion, 28-30;  aud  Emperor  Alexan- 
der, 32 ;  charms  Louis  XVIII.,  35 ; 
trial  concerning  possession  of  her 
children,  36,  37 ;  not  in  the  secret 
of  Napoleon's  return  from  Elba, 
39 ;  Napoleon's  severity  anl  cold- 
ness to,  41,  42:  her  letter  to  her 
brother  Eugene  concerning  Na- 
poleon's return,  43;  authorized 
to  retain  possession  of  her  sons, 
44 ;  her  influence  during  the  Hun- 
dred Days,  45 :  her  conduct  after 
Waterloo  and  her  farewell  to  the 
Emperor,  40-48 ;  her  exile,  50  et 


603 


504 


INDEX 


seq. ;  compelled  to  part  with  her 
eldest  son,  51 ;  authorized  to  re- 
side in  Switzerland,  52 ;  is  visited 
by  the  Princess  Hohenzollern- 
Sigmaringen,  54  ;  visits  her 
brother  Eugene,  56 ;  her  memoirs, 
57;  purchases  the  chateau  of 
Arenenberg,  in  the  canton  of 
Thurgau,  58,  59;  goes  to  Augs- 
burg, 59;  her  visit  to  Rome  in 
1821, 65 ;  with  Madame  Recamier 
at  masked  ball,  66;  her  words 
on  the  proscription  of  Napoleon 
Bonaparte's  relatives,  85, 86 ;  her 
ideas  concerning  the  papacy,  91 ; 
her  visit  to  Rome,  92-96;  fore- 
boded that  her  two  sons  would 
take  part  in  the  Italian  move- 
ment, 95;  joins  her  son  at  An- 
cona,  104-107;  her  experience  at 
Ancona,  107-110;  her  flight  to 
France,  110-112;  in  Paris,  115- 
124 ;  her  interview  with  Louis 
Philippe,  118, 121 ;  leaves  France 
and  returns  to  Switzerland,  124- 
127 ;  her  life  at  Arenenberg,  129 
et  seq. ;  is  visited  by  Casimir  De- 
lavigne,  Chateaubriand,  Madame 
Recamier,  etc.,  129-133 ;  her  de- 
votion to  her  son  Louis,  134 ;  her 
letters  to  her  son  Louis  in  New 
York,  171  et  seq. ;  her  illness, 
177,  178,  180,  184;  her  letter  of 
advice  to  her  son  Louis  in  Eng- 
land, 183, 184 ;  her  last  hours  and 
death,  187-192 ;  her  funeral,  193 ; 
Madame  Einile  de  Girardin's 
words  concerning,  194 ;  her  will, 
194-196 ;  not  true  that  she  coun- 
selled her  son  to  return  to  Amer- 
ica, 197. 

Bedeau,  General,  arrested,  366; 
imprisoned  at  Ham,  373. 

Bennett.James  Gordon, receives  the 
Due  d'Aumale  on  his  yacht,  428. 

Berryer,  his  speech  in  defence  of 
Louis  Napoleon  before  the  Court 
of  Peers,  243,  244 ;  Louis  Napo- 
leon's letter  to,  246,  371. 


Be'ville,  Colonel  de,  365. 

Beyle,  Henri,  and  the  Montijos, 
153,  159. 

Bixio,  M.,  in  Louis  Napoleon's 
cabinet,  333. 

Blanc,  Louis,  his  words  concerning 
Louis  Napoleon,  315. 

Bonaparte,  Jerome,  goes  to  Rome, 
65;  his  remonstrance  with  his 
nephews  on  their  joining  the 
Italian  movement,  100,  101,  305; 
authorized  to  sojourn  in  France, 
310 ;  installed  governor  of  the 
Invalides,  337;  joins  the  coup 
d'Etat,  369,  475. 

Bonaparte,  Joseph,  his  displeasure 
with  his  nephew  Louis  Napoleon 
on  account  of  the  Strasburg  con- 
spiracy, 173,  174;  leaves  no  de- 
scendants, 310. 

Bonaparte,  Louis.  See  Louis  Bona- 
parte. 

Bonaparte,  Louis  Napoleon.  See 
Louis  Napoleon. 

Bonaparte,  Lucien,  settles  himself 
in  Rome,  64,  305,  310.  * 

Bonaparte,  Napoleon.  See  Napo- 
leon Bonaparte. 

Bonaparte,  Pierre,  son  of  Lucien 
Bonaparte,  elected  to  the  Assem- 
bly, 313. 

Bonapartism,  the  cause  of,  appar- 
ently lost,  310 ;  agitation  in  Paris 
in  May,  1848,  315,  316. 

Boulogne  expedition,  the,  222-232 ; 
comments  of  the  press  on,  230. 

Capellari,  Cardinal,  becomes  Pope 
Gregory  XVI.,  95. 

Capitole,  the,  journal  founded  by 
Louis  Napoleon,  218,  237. 

Castellane,  General  de,  a  marshal 
of  France,  445. 

Cavaignac,  General,  his  words  con- 
cerning Louis  Napoleou's  letters 
to  the  Assembly,  316 ;  his  power 
in  the  Assembly,  317,  318;  his 
candidacy  for  president,  325-330 ; 
his  words  on  his    defeat,  330; 


INDEX 


505 


Louis  Napoleon's  compliment  to, 
331,  361;  arrested,  366;  impris- 
oned at  Ham,  373,  376. 

Chambord,  Comte  de,  manifesto 
of,  444. 

Changarnier,  General,  considered 
as  a  future  monk,  334;  Louis 
Napoleon's  compliment  to,  339; 
quelling  the  insurrection  of 
June  13,  1848,  342;  rebukes  the 
troops  for  hailing  Louis  Napo- 
leon as  Emperor,  349,  350;  re- 
moved from  command  by  Louis 
Napoleon,  351 ;  his  reply  to  Louis 
Napoleon's  Dijon  speech,  353; 
the  republicans  in  the  Assembly 
hostile  to,  861;  arrested,  366; 
imprisoned  at  Ham,  373,  376. 

Chateaubriand,  M.  de,  visits  Queen 
Hortense  at  Arenenberg,  130, 132, 
133. 

Chenier,  Andre',  his  verses  com- 
posed in  the  Conciergerie,  234. 

Clausel,  Marshal,  225. 

Commerce,  the,  journal  founded 
by  Louis  Napoleon,  218. 

Compiegne,  the  palace  of,  1-3 ;  fes- 
tivities at,  in  honor  of  the  visit 
of  Louis  Napoleon,  448-462;  Mar- 
cel's lines  on,  449,  450. 

Conciergerie,  the,  233 ;  Louis  Napo- 
leon in,  233-239;  Andrd  Chenier's 
verses  in,  234. 

Conneau,  Dr.,  his  proclamation  of 
appeal  for  Louis  Napoleon,  224, 
22.">;  imprisoned  at  Ham,  250; 
his  career,  251 ;  voluntarily  re- 
mained in  prison  with  Louis 
Napoleon,  289;  his  share  in  the 
escape  of  Louis  Napoleon,  294, 
297-300. 

Constitution,  the,  proposed  revi- 
sion of,  355,  356. 

Cotillion  Club,  the,  a  Bonapartist 
club,  219. 

Coup  d'Etat,  the  preliminaries  of 
the,  352-364 ;  arrest  of  sixteen 
representatives,  366 ;  decrees  and 
proclamations  of  the  president, 


367, 368 ;  the  accomplishment  of, 

368-376. 
Cowley,  Lady,  at  the  fetes  at  the 

Tuileries,  469,  470. 
Cre'mieux,  M.,  361. 
Crouy-Chanel,  M.  de,  founder  of 

the  Gapitole,  219. 
Cruvelli,  Mademoiselle  Sophie,  416. 

Delavigne,  Casimir,  the  god  of 
youth,  129,  130;  visits  Queen 
Hortense  at  Arenenberg,  129. 

Denmark,  Captain,  commandant 
at  Ham,  249,  298. 

Douglas,  Lady,  and  Louis  Napo- 
leon, conversation  of,  311. 

Dupin,  M.,  in  the  coup  d'Etat,  369, 
370. 

Edinburgh  Castle,  the,  Louis  Na- 
poleon embarks  on,  for  the  Bou- 
logne expedition,  221,  225. 

Elysee,  the  first  dinner  of  Louis 
Napoleon  at  the,  333;  its  widely 
different  destinies,  336;  various 
festivities  in,  337,  338 ;  Madame 
and  Mademoiselle  de  Montijo 
installed  in  the,  479,  480. 

Empire,  the  Second,  inaugurated, 
441-447. 

Esterhazy,  Prince,  Austrian  am- 
bassador, refuses  Louis  Napoleon 
a  passport,  181-183. 

Enge'nie  de  Montijo,  afterwards 
Empress  Eugenie,  her  character 
and  personality,  9-13;  her  home, 
her  birth,  and  her  family,  69- 
76;  genealogical  table  of,  76; 
her  early  home  life  and  educa- 
tion, 156  ;  enters  convent  of  the 
Sacred  Heart,  160 ;  her  imagina- 
tion and  vivacity,  427;  much 
noticed  at  the  fetes  at  Madrid, 
427;  the  Due  d'Aumale's  inter- 
est, 427, 428 ;  is  brought  to  Paris, 
431 ;  at  Fontainebleau,  435,  436 ; 
at  Compiegne,  453,  457,  460-462 ; 
a  fine  horsewoman,  456;  Louis 
Napoleon's  offer  of  marriage  to, 


506 


INDEX 


463,  4(54;  at  the  fetes  at  the 
Tuileries,  469;  the  announce- 
ment of  and  comments  on  the 
marriage  with  Louis  Napoleon, 
472  et  seq. ;  installed  in  the 
Elyse'e,  479,  480 ;  declines  a  gift 
of  diamonds  and  requests  that 
the  sum  represented  by  the  gift 
he  turned  to  charity,  481,  482; 
the  civil  marriage  ceremony  at 
the  Tuileries,  483-488;  the  re- 
ligious marriage  ceremony  at 
Notre  Dame,  492-502. 

Falloux,  Comte  de,  in  Louis  Napo- 
leon's cabinet,  333,  334. 

Faucher,  Leon,  in  Louis  Napoleon's 
cabinet,  333. 

Faure,  at  the  Opera  Comique,  416. 

Favre,  Jules,  his  words  concerning 
Louis  Napoleon,  315,  362. 

Flahault,  General  de,  358,  359. 

Fleury,  General,  his  account  of  the 
presidential  election,  327,  328; 
grand  equerry  to  Louis  Napo- 
leon, 332. 

Fontainebleau,  festivities  at,  in 
honor  of  Louis  Napoleon's  visit, 

.  433-439. 

Francis  I.,  his  remark  about  a 
court  without  women,  422. 

Frank-Carre,  his  words  to  Louis 
Napoleon  in  the  Court  of  Peers, 
240. 

Gay,  Mademoiselle  Delphine,  her 
lines  on  the  fate  of  Queen  Hor- 
tense,  125,  120. 

Girardin,  Madame  Emile  de,  her 
words  concerning  Queen  Hor- 
tense,  194;  her  words  on  the 
Boulogne  expedition,  231. 

Gordon,  Madame,  161. 

Got,  M.,  at  the  ComeVlie  Fran- 
chise, 416. 

Gramont,  Madame  de,  338. 

Grivegne'e,  Henri  de,  74. 

Guizot,  M.,  ambassador  to  Eng- 
land, 219,  228;    his  words  con- 


cerning the  Boulogne  expedition, 
229,  230. 
Guzman,  Don  Alfonso  Perez  de, 
70,  71. 

Hachette,  Jeanne,  the  inaugura- 
tion of  the  statue  of,  353,  351. 

Ham,  the  fortress  of,  247  et  seq. ; 
prison  life  of  Louis  Napoleon 
and  his  associates,  248-259;  Louis 
Napoleon's  escape  from,  288-297. 

Haussmann,  Baron,  his  account  of 
the  reception  to  Louis  Napoleon 
at  Bordeaux,  389,  390. 

Hohenzollern-Sigmariugen,  Prin- 
cess of,  a  friend  of  Queen  Hor- 
tense  in  exile,  51,  55;  receives 
Louis  Napoleon  during  his  exile, 
186. 

Hortense  de  Bcauharnais,  Queen. 
See  Beauharnais,  Hortense  de. 

Houdetot,  Colonel  d',  escorts  Queen 
Hortense  to  Louis  Philippe,  119. 

Houssaye,  Arsene,  his  ode  The 
Empire  is  Peace,  418,  420. 

Hugo,  Victor,  his  poem  Dictated 
after  July,  1830,  81,82;  his  ode 
to  the  Vendome  column,  87,  88; 
his  words  concerning  Falloux, 
373;  his  hand  in  the  manifesto 
of  the  "sociate"  democrats, 
443. 

Italian  movement,  the,  origin  of, 
90  et  seq. ;  the  insurrection  of 
the  Romagna,  97  et  seq. ;  the 
Princes  Napoleon  join,  95,  96, 
99-102;  dies  a  shameful  death, 
113. 

Josephine,  Empress,  at  Malmaison, 
31 ;  her  death,  34. 

Kirkpatrick,  Henrietta,  sister  of 

Comtesse  de  Teba,  75. 
Kirkpatrick,   Maria  Manuela  de, 

marries  Comte  de  Teba,  74,  75. 
Kirkpatrick,     William,     marries 

Francoise  de  Grivegnee,  74. 


INDEX 


507 


Laborde,  Alexandre  do,  Comte, 
and  Comtesse  de  Montijo,  l.r)8. 

Lacaze,  M.,  his  words  to  Loins 
Napoleon  in  the  Assembly,  323. 

Laity,  Armand,  his  vindication  of 
the  Strasburg  conspiracy,  202; 
imprisoned  and  fined,  203;  Louis 
Napoleon's  letter  to,  203. 

Lamartine,  M.  de,  his  words  on  the 
marriage  of  Napoleon  III.,  9; 
his  v.ords  in  the  Assembly  on  the 
Republic,  322. 

Lamoriciere,  General  de,  his  words 
concerning  Saint- Arnaud  and  the 
coup  d'Elat,  386;  arrested,  366; 
imprisoned  at  Ham,  373. 

Lawoestine,  Marquis,  at  the  head 
of  the  Parisian  militia,  413. 

Ledru-Rollin,  M.,  342. 

Legouve,  Ernest,  his  Napoleon  I. 
since  his  death,  80,  81. 

Lemoine-Montigny,  M.,  his  lines 
Repos  de  la  France,  addressed 
to  Louis  Napoleon  at  Com- 
pif'pie.  458,  450. 

Lesscps,  Ferdinand  dc,  his  antece- 
dents, 75,  76;  an  uncle  of  Em- 
press Eugenie,  76. 

Lesseps,  Mathion  de,  marries 
Catherine  de  Grivegne'e,  74,  75. 

Lhuys,  Drouyn  de,  in  Louis  Na- 
poleon's cabinet,  838. 

Louis  Bonaparte,  made  King  of 
Holland,  16;  marriage  with  Hor- 
tense  Beanhnrnais,  16 ;  abdicates 
throne  of  Holland,  18;  in  volun- 
tary exile,  10,  23;  refuses  an  ap- 
panage around  his  estate  of  Saint- 
Leu,  23;  returns  to  Paris,  2-1; 
Iiis  prophetic  lines  to  his  brother 
Napoleon,  25 ;  accompanies  Marie 
Louise  to  Blois,  25;  renounces 
ad  vantages  granted  him  by  the 
treaty  of  Fontainebleau,  38;  de- 
mands possession  of  his  eldest 
son,  36,  37 ;  takes  refuge  at 
Rome,  44 ;  Napoleon's  words  con- 
cerning, at  Elba,  44,  45;  sends 
Baron  de  Zuite  for   his  eldest ! 


son,  51 ;  his  letter  to  his  son  on 
the  latter's  receiving  his  first 
communion,  50,  60;  refuses  his 
son  permission  to  enlist  against 
the  Turks,  7!>:  bids  his  sons  re- 
turn from  the  Italian  movement, 
100;  tries  to  induce  his  son 
Louis  to  give  up  his  dreams  of 
ambition,  200;  very  ill,  and 
wishes  to  see  his  son,  281-283; 
his  last  hours  and  death,  303- 
305;  his  career,  304;  his  will, 
305 ;  compared  with  his  son,  306, 
307 ;  Albert  Reville's  estimate  of , 
308,  300. 

Louis  XVIII.,  his  interest  in  Queen 
Hortense,  85,  86. 

Louis  Napoleon,  his  character  and 
position  in  history,  6-0;  his  love 
marriage,  0;  his  birth,  16,  17; 
baptism,  10;  his  early  childhood, 
20-22;  his  early  studies  and  oc- 
cupations, 57;  at  the  University 
of  Augsburg,  50;  receives  his 
first  communion  and  his  con- 
firmation, 51),  60;  his  letter  to 
his  mother  on  the  death  of  tho 
Emperor,  60 ;  his  military  studies, 
77;  his  letter  to  his  father  re- 
questing permission  to  enlist 
against  the  Turks,  77,  78;  his 
request  refused  by  his  father, 
70;  joins  the  Italian  movement, 
05,  06,  00;  ordered  to  Ancona, 
103, 104 ;  sick  with  fever  in  Paris, 
121 ;  desires  to  serve  in  French 
army,  122 ;  refuses  to  give  up  his 
name,  123;  said  to  have  shared 
in  Bonapartist.  manifestation  of 
May  5,  123;  begins  to  entertain 
imperial  ambitions,  132,  133 ;  ap- 
plies himself  to  conciliating  the 
Swiss,  133 ;  publishes  his  Politi- 
cal and  Miliiarij  Consideration* 
on  Switzerland,  133, 134 ;  goes  to 
Thnn  to  perform  his  military 
service,  134 ;  his  name  mentioned 
as  a  candidate  for  the  hand  of 
Donna  Maria,  Queen  of  Portugal , 


508 


INDEX 


135;  made  honorary  captain  of 
artillery  in  the  Swiss  army,  135 ; 
his  words  concerning  Bonapar- 
tism  and  his  own  aspirations,  136, 
137 ;  project  of  his  marriage  with 
his  cousin  Princesse  Mathilde, 
137-140;  his  words  concerning 
his  grandmother  Madame  Mere, 
138,  139 ;  plans  and  conducts  the 
Strasburg  conspiracy,  140-149; 
arrested  and  imprisoned,  149, 
150;  sent  to  United  States,  151, 
152;  his  words  concerning  his 
betrothed  Eugenie,  155 ;  his  let- 
ter from  prison  concerning  the 
failure  of  his  plan,  160;  concern- 
ing Madame  Gordon,  161 ;  his 
voyage  to  the  United  States  on 
the  Andromeda,  161-169;  hears 
that  his  accomplices  in  the  Stras- 
burg affair  were  acquitted,  170; 
his  sojourn  in  New  York  and 
correspondence,  170  et  seq.;  his 
appeal  against  his  uncle  Joseph's 
displeasure,  173,  174;  his  self- 
justification  for  the  Strasburg 
conspiracy,  174, 175 ;  his  manner 
of  living  in  America,  176,  177; 
his  letter  to  the  President,  177, 
178;  goes  to  England,  178-180; 
his  letter  of  appeal  to  his  father, 
from  London,  180,  181 ;  endeav- 
ors to  obtain  a  passport  to  Swit- 
zerland, 181-183;  outwits  the 
English  police  and  makes  his 
way  to  Arenenberg,  184-186; 
closely  watched  by  the  French 
Government,  189 ;  at  his  mother's 
death-bed,  192 ;  his  year's  sojourn 
iu  Switzerland,  197-208;  leaves 
Arenenberg  and  goes  to  the  cha- 
teau of  Gottlieben,  199;  his  ef- 
forts to  make  himself  popular 
with  the  Swiss,  201,  202 ;  his  let- 
ter to  his  former  accomplice, 
M.  Laity,  203 ;  his  expulsion  from 
Switzerland  demanded,  204,  205 ; 
receives  honorary  right  of  citi- 
zenship in  canton  of  Thurgau, 


205 ;  offers  to  leave  Switzerland, 
206,  207 ;  leaves  Switzerland  for 
England,  209,  210;  his  two  years 
in  England,  211  et  seq. ;  by  nat- 
ure cosmopolitan,  211,  212;  his 
life  and  compauions  in  London, 
212,  213;  his  Les  Idtes  Napo- 
Uoniennes,  215-217 ;  portrait  of, 
drawn  by  de  Persigny  in  his 
Lettres  de  Londres,  Fisite  au 
Prince  Louis,  218 ;  sells  Arenen- 
berg to  found  two  Parisian  jour- 
nals, 218 ;  his  plans  for  the  Bou- 
logne expedition,  220  et  seq.; 
de  Tocqueville's  words  concern- 
ing, 222:  his  companions  in  the 
Boulogne  expedition,  223,  224; 
arrested  and  imprisoned,  227, 
231,  232;  in  the  Conciergerie, 
233-239 ;  translates  Schiller's 
poem,  The  Ideal,  235 ;  the  in- 
dictment against,  239;  his  ad- 
dress to  the  Court  of  Peers,  240- 
243;  condemned  to  perpetual 
imprisonment  in  the  fortress  of 
Ham,  245;  his  letter  to  M.  Ber- 
ryer,  246 ;  his  prison  life  at  Ham, 
248-250, 253-259 ;  his  letters  from 
Ham  to  Vieillard,  Peauger,  and 
others,  261-273;  his  ardent  nat- 
ure concealed  beneath  an  im- 
passive exterior,  273;  his  writ- 
ings in  verse  and  prose  during 
imprisonment,  274-280 ;  his  lines 
Anx  manes  de  VEmpereur,  274, 
275 ;  his  Fragments  historiques, 
275,  276 ;  his  study  De  Vorgani- 
sation  militaire  de  la  Prusse, 
276;  his  Extinction  du  pau- 
perism?, 277-280;  his  veneration 
for  his  father,  2S1 ;  preferred  to 
be  a  captive  on  French  soil  than 
a  free  man  elsewhere,  281 ;  ap- 
plies for  permission  to  visit  his 
father,  284,  2S5 ;  determined  not 
to  beg  pardon,  286-288;  his  es- 
cape from  prison,  288-297;  his 
letters  to  his  father,  to  Louis 
Philippe,  and  to  Vieillard  from 


INDEX 


509 


London,  301-C03;  his  vain  at- 
tempts to  secure  a  passport,  303 ; 
compared  with  his  father,  306, 
307 ;  wishes  to  be  a  man  of  let- 
ters, 306;  his  books,  306,  307; 
combines  the  life  of  a  student 
with  that  of  a  man  of  the  world, 
309 ;  his  confidence  that  his  star 
would  rise,  311 ;  his  words  to 
Lady  Douglas,  311;  visits  Paris 
and  offers  his  services  to  the 
Republic,  312;  ordered  out  of 
France,  312,  313;  his  letter  to 
the  National  Assembly,  314; 
elected  to  the  Assembly  by  four 
departments,  315;  his  letters  to 
the  Assembly  concerning  his 
election,  316,  317;  as  a  deputy 
to  the  Assembly,  318-320;  his 
sudden  turn  of  fortune,  321 ;  the 
danger  of  his  position  in  the 
Assembly,  323;  his  words  in 
the  Assembly  concerning  the 
presidential  election  amend- 
ment. 324;  his  candidacy  and 
election  to  the  presidency,  325- 
330;  his  costume  as  president, 
329 ;  his  compliment  to  his  com- 
petitor, Cavaignac,  331 ;  his  car- 
riage, 332;  his  cabinet,  333;  his 
policy,  334,  335;  receives  at  the 
Elysee,  337,  338 ;  inaugurates  the 
railway  from  Creil  to  Saint  Quen- 
tin,  338,  339;  reviews  troops  at 
Compiegne  and  compliments 
General  Changarnier,  339;  his 
attitude  in  the  Roman  trouble, 
341 ;  after  the  Mountain  party 
disturbance  of  June  13, 1848, 342, 
343 ;  makes  official  excursions  to 
several  cities  near  Paris,  313 ;  his 
letter  to  Colonel  Edgard  Ney  con- 
cerning the  Roman  trouble,  344, 
345 ;  his  attitude  in  domestic  poli- 
tics, 345-348;  sought  direct  per- 
sonal relations  with  the  provin- 
cial population,  348;  hailed  as 
Emperor  by  troops,  319 ;  his  mes- 
sage of  assurance  to  the  Assem- 


bly, 350 ;  rids  himself  of  General 
Changarnier,  350,  351 ;  his  words 
at  the  inauguration  of  the  Dijon 
railway,  352,  353;  continues  his 
triumphal    excursions   into   the 
provinces,  353;  his  preparations 
for  the  coup  d'Etat,  356  et  seq 
his  hesitation  and   irresolution 
363,  364 ;  his  decrees  and  procla 
mations  to  the  people,  367,  368 
presents  himself  to  the  troops, 
BOB ;  disavows  monarchical  resto- 
ration, 378,  379;    re-establishes 
the  imperial  eagles,  379,  380;  his 
address  to  the  soldiers  on  the 
Champ-de-Mars,    379,    380;    of- 
fered by  the  army  a  grand  ball 
at  the  Military  School,  381,  382 
makes  a  journey  south,  383-396 
his  speech  at  Lyons,  387,  388 
his  reception  at  Bordeaux,  389- 
395 ;  opened  the  ball  with  Made- 
moiselle   Ruspino,  daughter    of 
an  overseer,  35)5 ;  his  re-entrance 
into  Paris,  397-403 ;  receives  Abd- 
el-Kader    at    Saint-Cloud,  404- 
410 ;  esteemed  the  saviour  of  the 
papacy,  414;   his  devotion  to  a 
beautiful     Englishwoman,    422; 
proposed  marriage  of,  with  Prin- 
cess Caroline  Va8a,  423 ;  flattered 
and  applauded,  432;  visits  Fon- 
tainebleau,     433-439 ;     becomes 
Emperor,   441-447 ;    his    eleven 
days'  visit  to  Compiegne,  448- 
462 ;  visits  the  asylums,  456, 457 
has  a  diamond  clover  leaf  made 
for  Euge'uie  de  Montijo,461, 462 
offers  his  hand  in  marriage  to 
Eugenie    de  Montijo,  463,  464 
at  the  fetea  at  the  Tuileries,  467 
470;  announcement  of  and  com 
ments  on  his  marriage  with  Eu 
genie  de  Montijo,  472  et  s"q. ;  his 
address  on  the  subject  of   the 
marriage,  475-478 ;  respected  re- 
ligion, 480;  the  ceremony  of  his 
marriage  at  the  Tuileries,  483- 
488;  comments  of  the  press  on 


510 


INDEX 


his  marriage,  488-401 ;  the  re- 
ligious ceremony  of  his  marriage, 
at  Notre  Dame,  492-502. 
Louis  Philippe,  favored  reforms 
In  the  Papal  States,  01 ;  his 
interview  with  Queen  Ilorteuse, 
110-121 ;  refuses  to  release 
Louis  Napoleon  except  on  the 
latter 's  begging  pardon,  287, 
283. 

Magnan,  General,  350;  made  a 
marshal  of  France,  415. 

Malleville,  de,  in  Louis  Napoleon's 
cabinet,  333. 

Manciui,  Marie,  463. 

Marcel,  Alphonse,  his  verses  on 
Compiegne,  440,  450. 

Maria,  Donna,  Queen  of  Portugal, 
project  of  marriage  with  Louis 
Napoleon,  135. 

Marie  Louise,  leaves  Paris  for 
Blois,  25,  2G  ;  at  Rambouillet, 
30. 

Mathilda,  Princesse,  daughter  of 
Jerome  Bonaparte,  project  of  her 
marriage  with  Louis  Napoleon, 
137-140;  marries  Prince  Demi- 
doff,  310. 

Maupas,  M.  de,  prefect  of  police 
of  the  coup  d'Etat,  350,  366. 

Menotti,  appeals  to  the  two  princes 
Napoleon  to  join  the  Italian 
movement,  06. 

Mere,  Madame,  her  farewell  to 
Napoleon,  48;  takes  shelter  at 
Rome,  61;  her  death,  138,  130. 

Merimee,  Prosper,  and  the  Teha 
family,  155-157,  158;  the  subject 
of  Carmen  suggested  by  Cora- 
tesse  de  Moutijo,  158;  and  the 
two  daughters  of  Comtesse  de 
Montijo,  424,  425 ;  his  letter  to 
Comtesse  de  Montijo  on  the  lat- 
ter's  becoming  camarera  mayor, 
420. 

Michel,  M.,  361. 

Mole,  Comte,  his  letters  to  England 
concerning  Louis  Napoleon,  182, 


185;  his  letter  to  Switzerland, 
204;  in  Louis  Napoleon's  minis- 
try, 346. 

Montebello,  the  Due  de,  his  reports 
on  Louis  Napoleon  in  Switzer- 
land, 197-200,  208,  200. 

Montholon,  General  de,  imprisoned 
at  Ham,  250 ;  his  career,  250,251 ; 
his  wife  with  him  in  prison,  250 ; 
his  son  born,  259;  his  draw- 
ings, 259;  not  advised  of  Louis 
Napoleon's  plan  of  escape,  289; 
pardoned  and  set  at  liberty, 
299. 

Montijo,  Comte  de,  goes  to  France, 
158;  his  death,  421. 

Montijo,  Comte  de,  uncle  of  Em- 
press Eugenie,  70;  opposed  to 
France,  71,  72. 

Moutijo,  Comtesse  de,  her  personal 
attractions,  157 ;  intimate  with 
the  de  Laborde  family,  158 ;  sug- 
gested subject  of  Carmen  to 
Merimee,  158 ;  becomes  a  female 
politician,  475;  on  her  estate  of 
Carabanchel,  426;  appointed 
camarera  mayor  at  court  of 
Queen  Isabella,  420;  resigns  the 
position,  429 ;  comes  to  Paris, 
431;  her  interest  in  the  coup 
d'Etat,  431 ;  at  Fontainebleau, 
435,  436 ;  at  Compiegne,  453 ;  in- 
stalled in  the  Elysee,  470. 

Montijo,  Francoise,  marries  the 
Duke  of  Alba,  427. 

Moutijo,  Mademoiselle  de,  after- 
wards Empress  Eugenie.  See 
Eugenie  de  Montijo. 

Morny,  Comte  de,  his  parentage 
and  his  career,  358 ;  his  words  to 
Madame  Liadierce  at  the  Opera 
Comiqne,  305 ;  installed  as  Min- 
ister of  the  Interior,  366 ;  resigns, 
377. 

Mountain  party,  brought  about 
the  insurrection  of  June  13, 1848, 
341,  342. 

Murat,  Lucien,  elected  to  the  As- 
sembly, 313. 


INDEX 


511 


Napoleon  Bonaparte,  makes  his 
brother  Louis  King  of  Holland, 
16;  abdicates,  28;  returns  from 
Elba,  37-40 ;  his  severity  to  Queen 
Hortense,  41, 42 ;  authorizes  Hor- 
tense  to  retain  possession  of  her 
children,  44;  his  words  at  Elba 
concerning  his  brother  Louis,  41, 
IS ;  his  words  at  the  ceremony 
of  the  Field  of  May,  45;  his 
downfall,  4ti,  47;  farewell  to  his 
family,  48;  his  death,  GO;  urged 
his  family  to  establish  itself  at 
Rome,  62-64 ;  his  spirit  continued 
after  his  death,  80-8.5,  117,  118; 
his  relatives  and  descendants 
pro.;cri bod,  84 et  seq. ;  petitions  to 
hue  remains  of,  placed  beneath 
Vendome  column,  87;  his  ashes 
to  ho  brought  to  Paris,  219,  220. 

lean,  Prince,  eldest  son  of 
Queen  Hortense,  taken  from  his 
mother,  51,  52;  in  Tuscany,  83; 
his  marriage,  93;  his  personal  ap- 
pearance and  character,  93 ;  joins 
the  Italian  movement,  95, 96, 99; 
ordered  to  Ancona,  103,  104 ;  his 
death,  105 ;  at  Seravezza,  111. 

Napoleon,  Prince,  son  of  Jerome 
B  naparte,  elected  to  the  Assem- 
bly. 313;  ambassador  of  France 
to  Madrid.  430.  475. 

Niy,  Colonel  Edgard,  898;  Louis 
Napoleon's  letter  to,  concerning 
the  Roman  trouble,  344,  345. 

Notre  Dame,  the  ceremony  of  mar- 
riage of  Louis  Napoleon  and 
Eugenie  de  Montijo  at,  492^502. 

Old    Soldiers'    Club,    Bonapartist 

club,  219. 
Orleanist   party,  the,  reduced  In 

1852,414.415* 
Oudinot,  General,  in  the  Roman 

trouble,  310,  341;    in  the  coup 

d'Etat,  371. 

Paris,  characterized,  411;  condi- 
tions of,  in  1852,  412-418. 


Pasquier,  Chancellor,  238. 

Passy,  Hippolyte,  in  Louis  Napo- 
leon's cabinet,  333. 

Peauger,  M.,  Louis  Napoleon's  cor- 
respondence with,  265-268. 

Peers,  the  Court  of,  its  indictment 
against  Louis  Napoleon,  239 ;  the 
debates  in,  240-246. 

Perier,  Casimir,  his  words  to  Queen 
Hortense  concerning  her  remain- 
ing in  France,  122. 

Persigny,  M.  de,  his  Lcttres  de 
Londres,  Vizite  au  Prince  Louis, 
217,  218,  222,  223;  sentenced  to 
twenty  years'  detention,  245; 
Minister  of  the  Interior,  383; 
impatient  for  the  Empire,  383- 
386 ;  his  programme,  384,  385. 

Peyrouuet,  M.  de,  his  words  con- 
cerning the  fortress  of  Ham,  248. 

Pietri  proposition,  the,  315. 

Pius  VII.,  Pope,  his  welcome  to  the 
Bonapartes,  64. 

Pius  VIIL,  Pope,  death  of,  91. 

Pius  IX.,  takes  refuge  in  Gaeta, 
340. 

Poggioli,  M.,  sent  by  Louis  Bona- 
parte to  his  son  in  prison,  283. 

Prim,  General,  55. 

Proscription,  the,  of  the  relatives 
and  descendants  of  Napoleon 
Bonaparte,  84. 

Rachel,  Mademoiselle,  417 ;  recites 
U  ode  by  Arsenc  Houssaye,  418. 

RcVamier,  Madame,  her  account  of 
Queen  Hortense's  visit  to  Rome 
in  1824,  68  ;  wears  same  costume 
as  Queen  Hortense  at  masked 
ball,  66;  visits  Queen  Horti  i;sc 
at  Arenenberg,  130,  131;  visits 
Louis  Napoleon  at  the  Concier- 
gerie,  237. 

Remusat,  Comte  de,  lays  before 
the  Chamber  of  Deputies  an 
order  for  one  million  to  bring 
Mbetol  Napoleon  I.  to  Paris,  219. 

ReVille,  Albert,  his  estimate  of 
Ixmis  Bonaparte,  308,  309. 


512 


INDEX 


Romagna,  the  insurrection  of  the, 

97  et  seq. 
Roman  trouble,  the,  in  1848, 340-345. 
Rossi,  M.,  assassinated,  340. 

Saint-Arnaud,  General  de,  his 
career  and  his  importance  in  the 
coup  d'Etat,  356,  357,  305 ;  made 
a  marshal  of  France,  445. 

Saiute-Aulaire,  Comte  de,  his 
words  concerning  the  Italian 
revolution,  113. 

Sainte-Genevieve,  religious  cere- 
monies in  homage  to,  464. 

Schiller,  his  poem  The  Ideal  trans- 
lated hy  Louis  Napoleon  in  the 
Conciergerie,  235. 

Sebastian,  General  Comte,  his  let- 
ters reporting  on  Louis  Napoleon 
in  London,  181, 182,  211,  213,  214. 

Stephanie,  Grand-duchess,  a  cousin 
of  Queen  Hortense,  53 ;  her  three 
daughters,  423. 

Strasburg  conspiracy,  the,  142- 
153;  Louis  Napoleon's  accom- 
plices in,  acquitted  by  jury,  170. 

Stuart,  Lady  Dudley,  daughter  of 
Lucien  Bonaparte,  solicits  a 
passport  for  Louis  Napoleon,  181. 

Suffrage  law,  the,  in  the  Assem- 
bly, 348. 

Teba,  Comte  de,  afterwards  Comte 
de  Montijo,  father  of  Empress 
Eugenie,  his  family,  70;  a  par- 
tisan of  France,  71-73,  155; 
marries  Maria  Manuela  de  Kirk- 
patrick,  74;  at  the  defence  of 
Paris  in  1814,  156;  becomes 
Comte  de  Montijo,  157,  158.  See 
Montijo,  Comte  de. 

Teba,  Comtesse  de,  afterwards 
Comtesse  de  Montijo.  See  Mon- 
tijo, Comtesse  de. 

Teba,  Mademoiselle  de,  afterwards 
Mademoiselle  de  Montijo ;  after- 
wards Empress  Eugenie.  See 
Euge'nie,  Empress. 

Thelin,    Charles,    at    Ham,    250; 


his  devotion  to  Louis  Napoleon, 
252;  his  share  in  Louis  Napo- 
leon's escape  from  Ham,  280, 
294,  295,  297;  condemned  to  six 
months'  imprisonment,  300. 

Thiers,  M.,  225;  his  protest  against 
the  manifesto  of  Louis  Napoleon, 
326 ;  his  conversation  with  Louis 
Napoleon  concerning  the  cos- 
tume of  the  president,  329,  346, 
361 ;  arrested,  366. 

Thorigny,  M.  de,  removed  from 
office  of  Minister  of  the  Interior, 
366. 

Thouret,  Antony,  his  amendment 
in  the  Assembly  concerning  elec- 
tion of  president,  323,  324. 

Timarche,  Abbe,  cure  of  Ham,  292. 

Tocqueville,  Alexis  de,  his  words 
concerning  Louis  Napoleon,  222, 
346 ;  his  report  on  the  danger  of 
the  change  of  Assembly,  3S5. 

Tracy,  de,  in  Louis  Napoleon's 
cabinet,  333. 

Tuileries,  festivities  at  the,  378 ; 
fetes  of  the  Second  Empire  at 
the,  465-471 ;  the  marriage  cere- 
mony of  Louis  Napoleon  and 
Eugenie  de  Montijo  at,  483-488. 

Vasa,  Princess  Caroline,  proposed 
marriage  of,  with  Louis  Napo- 
leon, 423. 

Vaudrey,  Colonel,  in  the  Strasburg 
conspiracy,  144-148 ;  in  the  Bou- 
logne expedition,  223. 

Vertot's  Eivolutions  romaines, 
quoted,  222,  223. 

Victor  Emmanuel,  ascends  the 
throne,  340. 

Vieillard,  M.,  262,  264,  287. 

Vigier,  Vicomtesse,  416. 

Villeneuve,  Henri  de,  commander 
of  the  Andromeda,  163. 

Zappi,  Marquis,  takes  the  place  of 
Prince  Napoleon  at  Ancona,  107; 
assumes  character  of  a  domestic, 
110. 

Zuite,  Baron  de,  51. 


THE   SECOND   EMPIRE. 

By    IMBERT    DE    SAINT-AMAND. 


CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S   SONS,   PUBLISHERS. 


LOUIS   NAPOLEON  AND    MADEMOISELLE 
DE  MONTIJO. 

With  Two  Portraits.      Price  $1.50. 

With  this  volume  M.  Imbert  de  Saint-Amand  begins  an  elaborate 
"  study  of  the  history  of  France  during  the  reign  of  Napoleon  III.  The 
accession  of  the  new  dynasty  marked  a  new  era  which,  in  its  own  way 
and  under  the  changed  conditions  of  modern  times,  was  as  brilliant  as 
that  of  the  First  Empire.  It  had  its  strongly  marked  characteristics  in 
every  field  of  thought  and  activity.  It  was  the  period  of  the  alliance 
with  England  and  the  emancipation  of  Italy.  Except  during  the  years 
of  Napoleon  I.'s  supremacy,  the  influence  of  France  was  never  greater. 
Louis  Napoleon  was  the  arbiter  of  Europe,  the  Empress  Eugenie  was 
the  most  popular  of  sovereigns,  and  French  learning,  letters,  art,  luxury, 
and  fashion  were  conspicuously  the  models  of  the  rest  of  the  world. 

No  more  romantic  story  is  to  be  found  in  the  pages  of  fiction  than 
that  which  forms  the  theme  of  this  first  volume  of  the  series.  Nothing 
more  unpredictable  ever  happened  than  the  establishment,  first  in  the 
Elysee  and  afterwards  in  the  Tuileries,  of  the  exiled  nephew  of  the 
great  emperor.  The  secret  of  Louis  Napoleon's  success,  however,  lay 
in  the  peculiar  constitution  of  his  own  nature,  in  his  curious  admixture 
of  finesse  and  natvete,  of  policy  and  persistence,  of  self-confidence  and 
secretiveness.  Better  than  any  work  of  the  kind  M.  de  Saint-Amand's 
shows  the  reader  the  development  of  this  interesting  character  from  the 
days  of  his  early  childhood,  through  his  varied  experiences  in  Italy, 
Switzerland,  England,  and  America,  his  fiascos  of  Strasburg  and  Bou- 
logne, his  long  imprisonment  at  and  escape  from  the  fortress  of  Ham, 
his  election  to  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  to  the  Presidency  of  the 
Republic,  and  finally  the  coup  d'etat  and  the  proclamation  anew  of  the 
Empire.  The  picture,  too,  of  the  true  Empress  Eugenie,  in  her  early 
years,  and  the  story  of  her  romantic  elevation  to  the  throne  of  France, 
is  painted  in  lively  colors,  and  adds  much  to  the  personal  interest  of 
the  volume. 

Besides  the  present  volume,  a  second,  entitled,  "  The  Beginnings  of 
the  Second  Empire,"  and  recounting  the  history  of  the  reign  up  to  the 
birth  of  the  Prince  Imperial,  is  in  preparation,  and  others  will  follow  at 
appropriate  intervals,  bringing  the  narrative  down  to  the  dethronement 
of  the  Napoleonic  dynasty  and  the  establishment  of  the  present 
Republic. 

1 


FAMOUS    WOMEN    OF    THE    FRENCH    COURT. 


"  In  these  translations  of  this  interesting  series  of  sketches,  we  have 
found  an  unexpected  amount  of  pleasure  and  profit.  The  author  cites 
for  us  passages  from  forgotten  diaries,  hitherto  unearthed  letters,  extracts 
front  public  proceedings,  and  the  like,  and  contrives  to  combine  and 
arrange  his  material  so  as  to  make  a  great  many  very  vivid  and  pleas- 
ing pictures.  Nor  is  this  all.  The  material  he  lays  before  us  is  of  real 
value,  and  much,  if  not  most  of  it,  must  be  unknown  save  to  the  special 
students  of  the  period.  We  can,  therefore,  cordially  commend  these 
books  to  the  attention  of  our  readers.  They  will  find  them  attractive  in 
their  arrangement,  never  dull,  with  much  variety  of  scene  and  incident, 
and  admirably  translated."  —  The  Nation. 

"  Indeed,  a  certain  sanity  of  vision  is  one  of  M.  de  Saint- Amand's 
characteristics.  .  .  .  He  evidently  finds  it  no  difficult  task  to  do  justice 
to  legitimist  and  Imperialist,  to  the  old  world  that  came  to  an  end  with 
the  Revolution  and  to  the  new  world  that  sprang  from  the  old  world's 
ashes.  Nor  do  his  qualificatio?is  as  a  popular  historian  end  here.  He 
has  the  gift  of  so  marshalling  his  facts  as  to  leave  a  definite  impression. 
These  are  but  short  books  on  great  subjects  ;  for  M.  de  Saint-  Am  and  is 
not  at  all  content  to  chronicle  the  court  life  of  his  three  heroines,  and 
writes  almost  more  fully  about  their  limes  than  he  does  about  themselves  ; 
but  yet  comparatively  short  as  the  books  may  be,  they  tell  their  story,  in 
many  respects,  better  than  some  histories  of  greater  pretensions''' — The 
Academy,  London. 

FOUR  VOLUMES  ON   WOMEN  OF  THE  VALOiS  AND  VERSAILLES  COURTS. 

Each  with  Portraits,  $1.25.    Price  fer  set,  in  box,  cloth,  $5.00;  half  calf,  $10.00. 

WOMEN   OF  THE  VALOIS   COURT. 
THE  COURT  OF   LOUIS   XIV. 
THE  COURT  OF   LOUIS  XV. 
THE   LAST  YEARS  OF   LOUIS  XV. 

The  splendid  pageantry  of  the  court  over  which  Catherine  de'  Medici  presided 
and  in  which  she  intrigued,  and  the  contrasting  glories  and  shames  of  the  long  reigns 
of  the  "  Sun  King"  and  of  Louis  XV.  are  the  subjects  of  these  four  volumes  which 
depict  the  most  brilliant  days  of  the  Valois  and  Bourbon  dynasties. 

2 


FAMOUS    WOMEN  OF   THE  FRENCH  COURT 

iHREE  VOLUMES  ON  MARIE  ANTOINETTE. 

Each  with  Portrait,  $t  25.     Price  per  set,  in  box,  doth,  $3. 75;  half  calf,  $7.50. 

MARIE  ANTOINETTE   AND   THE   END  OF  THE  OLD   REGIME. 

MARIE  ANTOINETTE   AT  THE  TUILERIES. 

MARIE   ANTOINETTE  AND  THE   DOWNFALL  OF   ROYALTY. 

In  this  series  is  unfolded  the  tremendous  panorama  of  political  events  in  which 
the  unfortunate  Queen  had  so  influential  a  share,  beginning  with  the  days  imme- 
diately preceding  the  Revolution,  when  court  life  at  Versailles  was  so  gay  and  unsus- 
pecting, continuing  with  the  enforced  journey  of  the  royal  family  to  Paris,  and  the 
agitating  months  passed  in  the  Tuileries,  together  with  the  ill-starred  and  unsuccess- 
ful attempt  to  escape  from  French  territory,  and  concluding  with  the  abolition  of 
royalty,  the  proclamation  of  the  Republic,  and  the  imprisonment  of  the  royal  family, 
—  the  initial  stage  of  their  progress  to  the  guillotine. 

THREE   VOLUMES  ON  THE  EMPRESS  JOSEPHINE. 

Each  with  Portrait,  $1.25.     Price  per  set,  in  box,  cloth,  $3.75;  half  calf,  $7.50. 

CITIZENESS    BONAPARTE. 

THE  WIFE  OF  THE   FIRST  CONSUL. 

THE  COURT  OF  THE   EMPRESS  JOSEFHINE. 

The  romantic  and  eventful  period  beginning  with  Josephine's  marriage  to  the 
young  commander  whose  "  whiff  of  grapeshot"  had  just  saved  France  from  anarchy, 
and  whose  wonderful  career  was  about  to  begin,  comprises  the  astonishing  Italian 
campaign,  in  which  the  power  of  Austria  was  so  unexpectedly  and  completely  hum- 
bled, the  Egyptian  expedition,  the  coup  d'etat  of  Brumaire,  and  is  described  in  the 
first  of  the  above  volumes;  while  the  second  treats  of  the  brilliant  society  which  issued 
from  the  chaos  of  the  Revolution,  and  over  which  Madame  Bonaparte  presided  so 
charmingly;  and  the  third,  of  the  events  between  the  assumption  of  the  imperial  title 
by  Napoleon  and  the  end  of  1807,  including,  of  course,  the  Austerlitz  campaign. 

FOUR   VOLUMES   ON   THE  EMPRESS  MARIE  LOUISE. 

Each  with  Portrait,  $1  25.    Price  per  set,  in  box,  cloth,  $5.00;  half  calf,  $10  00. 

THE   HAPPY   DAYS  OF   MARIE   LOUISE. 

MARIE    LOUISE   AND   THE   DECADENCE  OF  THE   EMPIRE. 

MARIE   LOUISE  AND  THE   INVASION   OF   1814. 

MARIE  LOUISE,  THE  RETURN  FROM  ELBA,  AND  THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

The  auspicious  marriage  of  the  Archduchess  Marie  Louise  to  the  master  of 
Europe;  the  Russian  invasion,  with  its  disastrous  conclusion  a  few  years  later;  the 
Dresden  and  I.eipsic  campaign;  the  invasion  of  France  by  the  Allies,  and  the  mar- 
vellous military  strategy  of  Napoleon  in  1814,  ending  only  with  his  defeat  and  exile 
to  Elba;  his  life  in  his  little  principality;  his  romantic  escape  and  dramatic  return  to 
France;  the  preparations  of  the  Hundred  Days;  Waterloo  and  the  definitive  restora- 
tion of  Louis  XVIII  ,  closing  the  era  begun  in  1789,  with  "The  End  of  the  Old 
Regime,"  —  are  the  subjects  of  the  four  volumes  grouped  around  the  personality  of 
Marie  Louise. 

3 


FAMOUS    WOMEN  OF  THE  FRENCH  COURT 

TWO   VOLUMES  ON  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME. 

Each  with  Portrait,  $1.25.    Price  per  set,  in  box,  cloth,  $2.50;   half  calf,  $5.00. 

THE  YOUTH    OF  THE   DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME. 

THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME  AND  THE  TWO  RESTORATIONS. 

The  period  covered  in  this  first  of  these  volumes  begins  with  the  life  of  the 
daughter  of  Louis  XVI.  and  Marie  Antoinette  imprisoned  in  the  Temple  after  the 
execution  of  her  parents,  and  ends  with  the  accession  of  Louis  XVIII.  after  the  abdica- 
tion of  Napoleon  at  Fontainebleau.  The  first  Restoration,  its  illusions,  the  characters 
of  Louis  XVIII. ,  of  his  brother,  afterwards  Charles  X.,  of  the  Dukes  of  AngoulSme 
and  Berry,  sons  of  the  latter,  the  life  of  the  Court,  the  feeling  of  the  city,  Napoleon's 
sudden  return  from  Elba,  the  Hundred  Days  from  the  Royalist  side,  the  second 
Restoration,  and  the  vengeance  taken  by  the  new  government  on  the  Imperialists, 
form  the  subject-matter  of  the  second  volume. 

THREE  VOLUMES  ON  THE  DUCHESS  OF  BERRY. 

Each  with  Portrait,  $1.25.    Price  per  set,  in  box,  cloth,  $3.75;  half  calf,  $7.50. 

THE  DUCHESS  OF  BERRY  AND  THE  COURT  OF  LOUIS  XVIII. 
THE  DUCHESS  OF  BERRY  AND  THE  COURT  OF  CHARLES  X. 
THE   DUCHESS  OF   BERRY  AND   THE   REVOLUTION   OF  JULY,  1830. 

The  Princess  Marie  Caroline,  of  Naples,  became,  upon  her  marriage  with  the 
Duke  of  Berry,  the  central  figure  of  the  French  Court  during  the  reigns  of  both 
Louis  XVIII.  and  Charles  X.  The  former  of  these  was  rendered  eventful  by  the 
assassination  of  her  husband  and  the  birth  of  her  son,  the  Count  of  Chambord,  and 
the  latter  was  from  the  first  marked  by  those  reactionary  tendencies  which  resulted 
in  the  dethronement  and  exile  of  the  Bourbons.  The  dramatic  Revolution  which 
brought  about  the  July  monarchy  of  Louis  Philippe,  has  never  been  more  vividly 
and  intelligently  described  than  in  the  last  volume  devoted  to  the  Duchess  of  Berry. 

THE  REVOLUTION  OF  1848. 

With  Four  Portraits.    Price  $1.25. 

M.  Imbert  de  Saint-Amand's  volume  on  "  The  Duchess  of  Berry  and  the  Revo- 
lution of  1830,"  which  described  the  turbulent  accession  of  Louis  Philippe  to  the 
throne  of  France,  is  followed  by  the  account  of  the  Citizen  King's  equally  agitated 
abdication  and  exile  during  the  Revolution  of  1848.  As  always,  the  historian  writes 
from  the  inside,  and  his  description  of  the  exciting  events  of  the  February  days  that 
led  to  the  overthrow  of  the  Orleanist  dynasty,  the  flight  of  the  last  king  France  has 
had,  and  the  dramatically  sudden  establishment  of  the  Second  Republic  is  familiar 
and  intimate  rather  than  formal,  and  the  reader  gets  a  view  of  what  passed  behind 
the  scenes  as  well  as  on  the  stage  at  that  interesting  and  fateful  moment. 

4 


